


Alternate

by SpicyPepper_SweetSugar



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, F/M, Friendship, Love, Mentions of 2x13, Team Arrow friendship, olicity - Freeform, post 2x13 au, unestablished relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 08:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1338223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyPepper_SweetSugar/pseuds/SpicyPepper_SweetSugar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver wakes up one morning and something very, very strange is going on. Confused about everything, he sets out on a journey to find out the truth but at the same time wonders if he really wants to know. Life is good, isn't it? So why should he mess with it? Sometimes, what one thinks they want, isn't what they really want...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! :D Honestly, I didn't plan on posting this until I was finished with the whole story, but I really really want to know what you think of it before I continue writing! Since I also don't know whether I'll be posting on Crumbled Papers next week, I figured some might want something extra! :) I really hope you'll like it! Don't give up, it's a little confusing in the beginning!
> 
> Read the note at the end for more information on this fic! ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 1**

**Word count: 2,468**

 

* * *

The sun warmed his skin as its rays slipped through the see-through curtains. Oliver didn't move at first, savoring the feeling of having had a good night of sleep for the first time in what felt like ages. He was laying on his stomach, his head turned to the window and slowly, he opened his eyes, only to shut them quickly again when the light got too bright for him to handle. Stretching on the bed, he decided that he might allow himself another minute in bed, so he turned away from the window to face the other wall, when he suddenly realized, he wasn't alone in the bed. Speaking of the bed, now that he looked around, he didn't recognize the room to be his either. Looking back at the sleeping woman that was laying on her side, her back to him, he felt his throat close up. He would recognize those curls anywhere.

_Laurel._

How the hell did he end up in Laurel's bed last night? He remembered being at Verdant, down in the Foundry with Sara and agreeing that they shouldn't be together as more than friends, and then, it was just blank. Slowly, he got up into a sitting position and looked for any clothes that might be scattered on the floor, because that was the only explanation, wasn't it? He must have slept with Laurel, and only two days after he had slept with Sara. He felt awful about it too now. Then he noticed that he was actually wearing something, and Laurel was also wearing her PJ:s, and his clothes weren't on the floor at all. Instead, they were neatly folded on an armchair in the corner of the room. He looked around and took in his surroundings, noticing that a lot of things were different in Laurel's room. There were pictures of her and her family, some with Sara and some without, but there were also pictures of her and him on various events that he only remembered going to before the Island. But why would Laurel have those pictures up on her wall?

"Ollie?" a tired voice sounded behind him. "Are you getting ready for work already?"

Laurel's question caused him to freeze. What was he supposed to say?

"I'm sorry," he managed to get out. "About last night," he clarified, not daring to turn around and face her. "It was a mistake."

He felt Laurel's warm fingers connect with his left arm as she pulled at him, trying to get him to turn around. "What are you talking about, Ollie?" she asked, sounding just as confused as he was inside. Yet, the only thing he could see at the moment was the diamond ring that was currently on display on her left ring finger.

"Are you  _engaged_?" he asked, standing up from the bed. Turning around he finally faced her as he felt the shock of his own question run through him.

Laurel shot him a worried look. "Are you okay, Ollie? Did you have a nightmare or something?" she asked, looking confused.

"Tell me," he demanded, tearing his gaze away from the ring to look into her eyes. Laurel sat up and once again gave him a once over.

"Is this some kind of a bad joke, because it isn't funny, Oliver," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you getting cold feet?"

His heart was beating frantically in his chest. Instead of answering the question- which he honestly didn't know how to answer- he turned around and grabbed the pants and the shirt that he'd seen on the armchair. "I'm sorry," he said as he pulled off the pajama pants he had worn and quickly pulled on the jeans and then changed his shirt. "I don't know what happened here, but I don't really know if I want to know," he told her.

She got up from the bed and walked toward him. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to put her hand on his cheek, but he turned away from her as if she had wanted to slap him.

"What did you mean by cold feet earlier?" he whispered, his eyes going to the pictures that were hanging on the walls.

"You're asking me if I'm engaged, when you already know the answer," she replied. "The only thing that would explain you making jokes about it, is you getting cold feet and trying to break it off."

He turned back to face her. "We're engaged?" he asked, not meaning to sound so skeptical, but as mentioned, he didn't really know what the hell was going on. "You and I?"

Laurel only smiled at him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "And we've been planning the wedding for six months now," she confirmed and suddenly, he wanted to be swallowed whole by the floor. When Laurel started leaning in, however, he put his hands on her shoulders to lightly push her back.

"Wait," he said, causing her to once again look at him in that worried manner. "I- I don't remember ever getting engaged," he told her honestly. It was absurd. How could he have woken up in bed next to Laurel, only to have her tell him that they've been engaged for six months. "It's impossible," he continued. "We can't be getting married."

His comment made Laurel pull away from him and take a step back. "Ollie, you're scaring me," she said. "Did you hit your head or something while you slept?"

"Laurel, I don't remember us even being in a  _relationship_  after I returned from the Island, nevertheless proposing and getting engaged to you." He hadn't intended to sound so harsh, but it needed to be said. Something was awfully wrong with this whole situation.

"Island? Oliver, you really should go back to bed," Laurel said, once again reaching for him, but he stepped away from her.

"I need to get home," he said. "I need to go. I'm sorry," he repeated, not really sure why he was apologizing anymore. Before Laurel had the chance to say anything, he was already headed for the door.

"Oliver, stop!" Laurel called after him, but he ignored her, grabbed his jacket and the keys that were in the bowl on the small drawer and walked out of the apartment. Outside, he found his bike parked on the driveway with his helmet secured to it, but considering how the morning had begun, he couldn't exactly say that it made his top ten list of strange things that had happened to him. Trying not to think about it too deeply, he got on his bike, put the key in the ignition and drove off as fast as he could.

It was still early, he realized, since the streets weren't packed yet and he could easily make his way to the mansion. He hadn't been there for a few days, ever since he found out about Thea being Malcolm Merlin's daughter, but for some reason, the only place he could think about going to was his old home. What if this was another plot his mother had figured out? Could she really be that twisted and sick that she'd have Laurel pretend to be engaged to him, only to throw him off?

Nothing made any sense to him, so instead, he focused on the road ahead of him, not daring to think of what he might find when he got to the place he had once called home.

He parked the motorcycle outside and hurried to the door, where he knocked loudly. It only took a minute for Raisa to get to the door.

"Oliver," she said with a happy smile. "What a nice surprise. Your mother is in the dining room eating breakfast-" she stopped abruptly as he made his way past her without saying a word and headed in his mother's direction.

When he got to the dining room, Moira was sipping her tea gingerly and reading a newspaper and still in her robe. She looked up at him and smiled brightly, "Oliver! I wasn't expecting you." She put her tea down and walked up to him before embracing him tightly. Oliver stood frozen. "What's wrong honey? Did something happen with Laurel?"

Moira's concern seemed to be real, for once, and Oliver made a mental note to add that to things that weren't making any sense. Before Oliver had a chance to reply, however, another person joined them.

"Moira, sweetheart, do you think I should wear my blue or gray tie to the office today?"

Oliver hadn't heard that voice for six years now, unless of course one counted the hallucinations he had had while on the Island. He took a step away from his mother and turned around, only to be greeted my his father's smile. "Oliver! What a nice surprise!" Robert Queen said, and Oliver felt as if he was going to throw up. When he didn't make a move, Robert walked up to him and patted him on the back. "Will you be joining me and your mother for breakfast before we head off for work?"

His father had touched him, and he had  _felt_  it. But it couldn't be real. His father was dead.

"This isn't real," Oliver let out, and his statement was quickly followed by a strangled laugh. "It isn't  _possible_ ," he continued, pointing his finger at his father. "You're  _dead_."

Moira and Robert looked at each other before looking back at Oliver.

"Son, are- Are you all right?" Robert asked, taking a small step forward, reaching for him, but Oliver stepped away.

"You  _died_ ," Oliver repeated. "You've been dead for six- almost  _seven_  years now!" His mother shot his father a worried glance.

"Oliver, you've been working too hard at the office," Robert said calmly. "I can assure you that I am  _not_  dead."

Oliver didn't know what to believe anymore. Laurel was his fiance, apparently, his mother spoke to him as if she hadn't lied about his sister's real father for years and his father, was standing right in front of him, saying that he wasn't dead.

"You died before we reached the Island," Oliver said, trying to calm himself. "When the Queen's Gambit went down... You were dead and I was marooned for five years on Lian Yu." He couldn't believe he was trying to convince his father, who looked healthy as a horse, that he was in fact dead. Images of the suicide flashed through Oliver's mind and he  _knew_  that it had been real. For a second, he wondered if he was going insane.

"Oliver, you were never marooned anywhere, sweetheart," his mother said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "And your father is here with us, just like he's always been," she tried, but Oliver shook his head.

"It's not possible," he repeated. "I  _saw_ you die on that boat!"

Robert looked at the accusing finger that Oliver had pointed at him and slowly pushed his hand to the side. "Oliver, son," Robert began calmly. "It seems that you've had some kind of a vivid nightmare that you haven't quite woken up from," he said. "I'm telling you now, that I have never in my life heard of an Island named Lian Yu, and neither has your mother. We've been here, just like we've been for all of your life and neither you nor I have taken a boat trip anywhere on the Queen's Gambit for almost two years now," he assured. "I'm not dead, Oliver," he repeated, putting his hand on Oliver's other shoulder.

Oliver looked at his parents and felt a knot form in his stomach. Should he cry or be happy or do both? When his father had spoken, Oliver realized two things: One, he was pretty sure he was losing his mind, and two, his father was alive, and whatever was going on right now, could only be explained by the fact that the sinking of the Queen's Gambit and Lian Yu, had never happened.

-§-

Machines beeped slowly, his breathing was hollow and Felicity felt sick to her stomach. She was holding on to his hand, desperately, praying that he would find his way back to them all. When she had gotten the call from the hospital, she had rushed out in only her pajama shorts and MIT shirt, so the nurses had been kind enough to lend her a blanket.

"He'll be okay, Felicity," Diggle said from behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "The doctors said the surgery went good and that from what they could see on the scans, there hasn't been any brain swelling."

"But it's still a  _coma_ , John," Felicity spoke, her voice trembling. "You never know with those. One second it can be good, and the next, his lung is collapsing and he's going into cardiac arrest and-"

"Felicity," Diggle interrupted, seeing as the tears fell freely from her eyes. "He was lucky that he was wearing a helmet and that the other car had actually stopped when he hit it."

"He  _flew_  off his bike, Diggle," Felicity sniffed. "Head first, straight down on the concrete. He has several broken ribs, internal bleeding and a broken leg. Not to mention that a second car  _barely_  managed to stop from driving over him. He was unconscious when the ambulance got there and they had to pull him into surgery immediately. I don't really want to call that luck."

Diggle sighed and only squeezed her shoulder. "He'll be fine," he said again. "He's been through so much worse and if he doesn't pull through, I'm going to kill him."

Felicity managed to laugh through her tears, "You know you'll be killing an already dead man, right?" she asked and he nodded.

"Don't look too deep into the details," Diggle chuckled. "I've called Mrs. Queen and Thea. They should be on their way here."

Felicity nodded, even though she didn't quite believe it was a good idea to have Moira there. Oliver's mother knew that Felicity had told him about Thea, so she dreaded the fact that Moira might be confronting her when she was already upset about Oliver's accident.

Looking at his unconscious form, Felicity felt tears well up in her eyes again. She squeezed his hand and leaned down to first press her lips against it, and then rest her forehead there.

"Please come back," she whispered. "Please come back to us... Come back to  _me_ , Oliver..."

She knew that Diggle was hearing every word she was saying, but he didn't comment and neither did he remove his hand from her shoulder. Instead, he squeezed her shoulder and pulled a chair closer, so he could sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her back, trying to show any kind of comfort he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the dream world caused by his coma, Oliver has a heart to heart with his sister. Meanwhile, in the real world, Thea, Roy and Moira arrive at the hospital, only to learn that not only has Ms. Smoak become Oliver's emergency contact without their notification, but the young blonde hasn't left his side since they brought him out of surgery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back to this story now that Crumbled Papers is finished! I just wanted to say that chapter 3 is being written, but I'm working too, so I can't promise weekly updates with this story! At least not until I get a free day or two from work! Then I promise I'll sit by the pool and write, write, write! ;)
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and if you're confused by anything (I swear I have to read it like ten times to make sure I don't mix up the dream world and the real world!)!
> 
> Oh, and from now on, I'll make sure to write "Real world" in italics when the world changes. But you should know that the first part of the chapter is always Oliver's coma-dream-world! ;)
> 
> Now, enjoy! :)

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 2**

**Word count: 3,677**

* * *

The minutes were passing slowly and Oliver found himself wondering when his mother had bought that clock that was continuously ticking away. He was currently seated on one side of the table with  _both_  of his parents on the other side of the table. Raisa had been there just a few minutes ago and told him that his own omelet would be ready in a moment and Oliver hadn't had the heart to tell her that he didn't want anything, because he felt as if he was going to empty the contests of his stomach at any second.

He had barely managed to give her a nod, because he was feeling dizzy, and then his parents had led him to the chair he was currently sitting in, before joining him at the table. Now, they were looking at him as if they wanted an explanation, but Oliver didn't know where to begin.

If he told them the truth, that up until this morning he had been living a completely other life, acting as CEO for Queen Consolidated at day and being Starling's vigilante-slash-hero at night, they would probably be checking him in to a mental institution. However, if he accepted the fact that he seemed to have woken up in some kind of alternate universe where his father was alive and well, he was engaged to Laurel, and everything in his life seemed to be the way he had always wanted it to be, he thought he might check himself into said institution.

He couldn't accept it, because why would he otherwise have such vivid memories of  _being_  on the Island and becoming the Arrow? It wasn't possible for it to have just been a dream; an incredibly long  _nightmare_. But how would he explain it to his parents? That he was one hundred percent sure that his father was in fact dead and that he had been so for almost seven years, and that he  _wasn't_ engaged to Laurel, because Laurel was currently going through a difficult time with her drinking problem, which seemed to be running in her family? There was no way to explain it, so instead, Oliver just sat there and stared back at his parents, without saying a word.

Raisa walked back into the room and put the omelet in front of Oliver.

" _Spaciba,_  Raisa," Oliver said without thinking, causing both his parents and Raisa to look at him in surprise.

"Russian?" Moira question and Oliver tried not to look panicked. If it was true that the Island had never happened, he shouldn't be able to know Russian.

"I looked it up online once," he shrugged, touching the omelet with his fork lightly. The lie just flew out of his mouth and Moira and Robert seemed to accept his reply, but kept looking at him expectantly. He knew that they wanted him to speak to them, but he wasn't really feeling like telling them that he thought he might be going insane.

A couple of footsteps sounded as someone descended the stairs.

"Morning mom, morning dad!" Thea called out as she walked into the room. "Ollie? I didn't know you were coming for breakfast," she said, sounding genuinely surprised but happy at the same time. She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"It wasn't exactly a planned visit," Oliver explained curtly. Thea didn't seem phased by it at all and instead she sat down on the chair next to him as Raisa brought out another omelet.

"Have you prepared for your presentation?" Robert asked and Thea nodded.

"I can proudly say that think I'm gonna ace this one," Thea said, indeed sounding confident. Oliver just sat there and stared at his plate, only listening to the casual conversation taking place. "How's Laurel, Ollie?" Thea asked politely, finally making Oliver look up at her. He took in her carefree face and light smile. This Thea, whoever she was, hadn't been tainted by the loss of her brother and father, that much was clear. She looked happy, almost like everything in her life was just as it should be and he didn't now if he was ready to ruin it all by telling her too that it wasn't real.

Was it real?

Before he had the chance to even try to process the question again, the doorbell rang. He heard the door open and shut and then hurried footsteps made their way into the room. Instantly, he was on alert, worried about who had intruding, but relaxed slightly when he saw Laurel's familiar face in the doorway.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed, letting out a breath as she ran up to him and embraced him. The hug was awkward, at least on Oliver's part, because of obvious reasons. The other members of the Queen family seemed to notice his wariness, and looked at him just as confused as Laurel looked when she finally pulled away to face him. "I was so worried. You didn't say where you were going, so I had to look for you everywhere," she said. Oliver slowly removed her hands from his shoulders and stood up, slowly walking backwards as he stared at the people in front of him.

"Oliver, what is going on with you?" Moira spoke, sounding both worried and annoyed at the same time.

Oliver raised his hands as he backed away, to keep them all at a safe distance. "It's not real," he said, mostly to himself. "None of it is real. You," he pointed at his father again, "are  _dead_  and  _nothing_  is as it was." He was having a hard time breathing properly now, knowing that he needed to get away from everyone, at least long enough for him to catch a breath and think things through. He couldn't stay in the room and for the first time in what felt like forever, Oliver turned around and ran. He knew he wouldn't get far when he heard his parents, Laurel and Thea all calling for him simultaneously, so instead of running out of the house, he found himself heading for the stairs. The next thing he knew, he was in his old bedroom. He locked the door to keep them from coming in and then took in his surroundings. The room was mostly empty.

His bed was there, but his other belongings weren't. Sinking to the floor while leaning against the door, he ran his fingers through his hair. Confusion seemed like the only thing he was able to feel at the time.

He didn't know how long he sat there. The only thing he knew was that no matter how much he tried to make sense of what was happening, he couldn't. Maybe the only thing he could do, was accept that it had  _something_  had happened, and not think and deeper into what that 'something' was.

A knock came on the door.

"Ollie?" Thea's voice rang out and Oliver swallowed thickly. "Will you let me in?" she asked. Hesitantly, Oliver stood up and unlocked the door. He only opened it a little so he could look out and make sure she was alone. He couldn't stand looking at anyone else but her, because besides her slight behavioral change, Thea was the only person that seemed normal to him.

He opened the door enough for her to step inside and then quickly shut it, locking it again. When he turned around, Thea was watching him, concerned.

"Can we please sit down?" he asked her, not giving her a chance to speak. "My head is spinning."

She nodded curtly and moved to the bed, sitting down and patting the spot beside her, motioning for him to sit down next to her. He moved slowly, still uncertain, but sat down next to her nevertheless.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?" Thea asked. "Laurel said you were acting really strange this morning and dad-"

"Stop," he said, not wanting to hear her talking about their father. His mind went to the conversation he had had with Felicity, about Thea's  _biological_  father. Instantly, he tensed up.

Thea looked at him and blinked twice. "Okay," she finally said. "You talk instead." She put her hand over his and he looked at it. It felt real, just like everything else since he had woken up this morning. That however didn't change the fact that he knew it  _couldn't_  be real...

"I know this is all going to sound crazy, Thea," he began, "but  _none_ of this is real."

"Could you explain  _what_  exactly isn't real?" she asked, looking at him neutrally, like he hadn't just said something that would make most people question someone's sanity.

"I, uh..." he trailed off. "I woke up this morning, in  _this_  world, where nothing is as it was yesterday," he tried explaining. "I know it doesn't make any sense," he sighed exasperatedly, once again putting his head in his hands, "but it's the truth. I went to bed last night in another world, where everything was different and woke up  _here_."

"What other world?" Thea asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Oliver shrugged, putting one of his hands over hers while letting the other fall to his lap. "You'll think I'm crazy," he told her, which caused her to chuckle.

"Well, no offense, Ollie, but you've already convinced me that you're having a psychotic break or something," she said. "So why not share anyway? I mean, how bad could it be?"

_Very bad_ , he thought, and proceeded to tell her so.

"Almost seven years ago, dad and I went on the Queen's gambit," he began slowly. "The boat went down and dad died. I survived, but was shipwrecked on an Island called Lian Yu for five years," he said.

Thea's eyes widened slightly, but she nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"When I came back, you were all grown up and things had changed..." he drawled, wondering how much he should share. "Dad and I had been declared dead a long time ago and when I was found alive, the media was all over us and mom wanted me to take over as CEO for Queen Consolidated, but I  _couldn't_  because I had...  _personal_  things to take care of," he settled. Sharing that he was convinced he was from another world was enough. His sister didn't need to know that he was an arrow-shooting vigilante in that world.

"Where was Laurel when you came back?" Thea asked. "I'm assuming that the two of you were together before you left with dad," she explained quickly after seeing the confused look he sent her.

He should have been expecting that question.

"Yes, I was together with her," Oliver nodded. "But I was..different. I cheated on her...with Sara."

Thea's eyes widened. "If you decide to tell Laurel this story, I would suggest you keep that detail out," she told him and he nodded. He hadn't intended to share that part of the story with Laurel anyway, if he told her anything, that is.

"I brought Sara with me on the Gambit, and that's how Laurel then found out that I had cheated on her," he explained, feeling horrible once again. Digging back into how he'd returned was hurting him more than he wanted to admit. "Where is Sara anyway?" he asked. "I mean, if we never went on the Gambit..."

"She's working in Central City," Thea answered quickly. "She finished college, had a good job and is engaged to some guy."

Oliver's heart skipped a beat. "Good," he said with a curt nod. If they had never slept with each other and went on the Gambit, he truly was glad that Sara had found her way to happiness.

"No offense, Ollie," Thea said, "but alternate-you sounds like an asshole."

"I was," he agreed. "And I regretted it all when I came back and met Laurel for the first time again." He didn't want to talk about the way he and Laurel had been up-and-down on both the relationship and friendship front since his return from the Island, and certainly not how Sara, who had survived, was back and the two of them were...something.

Instead, he knew he needed to find out the more important things from Thea, such as, what was really going on in this world.

"That's all I can tell you right now, without upsetting you too much," he said thoughtfully.

Thea tilted her head and looked at him. Something inside him fluttered and for a moment, Thea didn't look like herself. She was instead wearing a pink shirt, her lips painted a bright fuchsia color, glasses adorning her face and blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. Oliver shook his head, trying to get the mental image out of his head for a second so he could concentrate.

"Good news, Ollie. I have decided to declare you crazy," Thea joked, punching him lightly. "No, but seriously. You've clearly been having trouble sleeping or something because that all sounds like a dream."

"I know," he agreed. "The problem is that I don't know what's real and what's not, because just as much as  _this_ ," he motioned between the two of them, "feels real, the things I just told you feel just as real."

His head hurt and he once again saw flashes of blond hair in front of him. "I need to find Diggle and Felicity," he told Thea. "I need to speak to them."

Thea quirked an eyebrow at him. "Who are they?" she asked, and he was reminded of the fact that Thea had probably never met them. In this world, he never would have needed Diggle as a bodyguard, and he probably would never have gone to Felicity with a computer with bullet holes which led to them joining his crusade.

"They are my friends," he told his sister.

"In this world or the other?"

"The other," he answered honestly. He didn't see a point in pretending to have known them in this world in front of Thea, since she would probably connect it all later anyway.

"Are you sure they exist?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yes," he said. A world without Felicity and Diggle wasn't something he could imagine.

Thea stayed quiet for a while, watching him. He tried to look as convincing as he could, because he knew she already thought he was going crazy and he didn't want her to give up on him just yet. If he found Felicity and Diggle, he had a feeling that things would fall into place again, as long as he managed to get through to them.

"Okay," Thea finally said.

"Okay?"

"Okay," she repeated, this time followed by a curt nod. "If you're convinced that these Diggle and Felicity persons exist and that something is going on with you, I'll help you figure it out."

"You're going to help me?" he asked.

"By being there for you if you need me," she said. "Whatever it is that's gotten into you, Ollie, you need to set things straight, but you need to try and make sense of it by yourself. If you do however need someone to tell you how things are  _here_  in  _our_  world, I'll be here for you and help you."

Without thinking, he embraced her and kissed the top of her head. He worried for a moment that she might push him away, because he clearly wasn't her 'Ollie' that had gone to bed with Laurel, his fiance last night. When he felt her relax against him and her arms wrapped around him, he allowed himself to relax as well.

Whatever was going on, he knew he couldn't figure it out by himself.

That was why it was so important to find out where Diggle and Felicity were. If he managed to get through to them somehow, things might make more sense.

* * *

_[Real World...]_

Thea rushed into the hospital, closely followed by Roy and her mother.

"Oliver Queen," she said as she reached the reception. The nurse looked up as if she had been about to tell them to leave, which Thea figured had to do with the multiple paparazzi-photographers that were outside the hospital at the moment. However, when the nurse recognized Thea and Moira, she immediately stood up, showing them the way to Oliver's room.

"He came out of surgery a while ago, but the doctors are saying it will take a day or two for him to wake up," the nurse explained.

"So he's in a coma?" Thea swallowed, feeling her stomach sink as the nurse nodded.

"Why didn't anyone call us sooner?" Moira snapped, worry still evident in her tone. "His bodyguard was the one who called us,  _after_  he got out of surgery!"

"We called his emergency contact," the nurse informed impassively.

"His emergency contact? Isn't that one of his family members?" Thea frowned.

"I'm afraid Mr. Queen changed that during his last hospital visit," the nurse explained, sounding as if she didn't want to be pulled into any family drama. "He's in a private room, but still, no more than two visitors at the same time," she instructed. "Mr. Diggle and Ms. Smoak are with him now."

"Ms. Smoak?" Moira questioned, her eyebrows furrowing.

Thea looked over at Roy, who was keeping his face neutral. That didn't mean that he was very good at hiding the emotions in his eyes. He was clearly worried, and at the mention of a Ms. Smoak, he hadn't even blinked, which meant that he knew something about this girl that Thea didn't.

The three of them stopped outside of Oliver's room. The blinds were down, but weren't completely shut, which meant that they could clearly see Oliver's bodyguard standing by the wall, his arms crossed across his chest, looking intently at the unconscious body on the hospital bed. On a chair, by the bed, sat a blonde woman wrapped in a blanket. Thea couldn't see her face, which meant that it was impossible to recognize her. She did however see how the young woman clung to Oliver's hand, almost desperately, which made her mind wander.

"I'll inform them that you're here," the nurse said sweetly, stepping inside the room and closing the door after herself. Thea watched as the blonde turned around, and instantly, she recognized her as Oliver's Executive Assistant. She had only met her a few times, and she remembered seeing her once or twice at Verdant.

The blonde nodded once, saying something to the nurse and the nurse nodded before stepping outside again.

"Well?" Moira asked impatiently.

"Ms. Smoak would just like another minute or two with Mr. Queen and then she'll step outside," the nurse said, as politely as she could.

"She's been in there long enough," Moirasaid, displeasure clear in her tone. "I'm his  _mother_."

"And yet, Ms. Smoak was his emergency contact," the nurse inquired curtly. Suddenly her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "I am so sorry, Mrs. Queen. It's not my place," she said, taking a step back. "I'll step away now, if you don't have anything else to ask."

Moira looked at her bitterly, but didn't say anything, so the nurse turned to walk away. Thea shot a glare at her mother before following the nurse.

"Excuse me," she called, waving a hand at her. The nurse stopped and turned around.

"Ms. Queen?" the nurse said, still looking like a deer in headlights. "I apologize for-"

"Don't worry about it," Thea said quickly. "I have a couple of questions about Ollie-  _Oliver_ , I mean."

"Yes?" the nurse nodded, calming down a bit. "I'll try to answer them for you."

"Is he really in a coma? What are the chances of him waking up?" Thea asked.

"Yes, Mr. Queen is in a coma, but the doctors are trying to be positive about it," the nurse explained. "He was in a motorcycle accident and his body needs time to recover, which is best done if he's asleep."

"Do they know how long he might be...asleep?" Thea asked, her throat thick.

"As far as we know," the nurse said, "it can take a few days for him to wake up. They still have to do some scans, but they'll probably do that tomorrow, since he just recently got out of surgery."

"Was he conscious when he came in?"

"I'm afraid not, but the surgery went well, Ms. Queen. There is nothing to do now but to wait," the nurse said, putting a comforting hand on Thea's shoulder.

A thousand thoughts were running through Thea's mind as she pictured Oliver's bruised and bloodied body being rolled into the ER. She had seen way too many episodes of  _Grey's Anatomy_  to not be able to visualize it vividly.

"Has Ms. Smoak left my brother's side at all?" she finally asked and the nurse shook her head.

"Since Mr. Queen came out of surgery, Ms. Smoak has been there," she answered. "There must be a reason why he listed her as his emergency contact, after all, right?"

When the nurse offered her a small smile, Thea only nodded before thanking her and walking back to Oliver's room.

She found her mother sitting on a chair, still waiting for Ms. Smoak and Mr. Diggle to step out. Roy was standing by the window, watching Oliver and the other two people who were with him. His finger was tapping impatiently against his arm that was was crossed over his chest and when Thea stood by his side, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Thea leaned into him and inhaled, feeling his comfort before once again looking through the window.

It was clear to her that her brother and his Executive Assistant had  _something_  going on between them, whether it be friendship or something more, that he hadn't told her about. As she watched the mysterious Ms. Smoak rise from her chair, Thea decided that it was time for her to find out just how close the woman was to her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Hey! Leave a comment if you liked it! =) And I just wanted to add one last thing: I'll try to not get too OOC with the characters in the real world, but in Oliver's dream world, the characters will most likely be at least a little OOC, especially our very confused Oliver! But it's his dream world, so that's a little expected, right? So that's a warning, if you don't like it when characters get a little OOC (because quite frankly, it annoys me too a bit), then you don't have to feel any pressure in reading this fic! :)
> 
> Now I'm headed off to work!
> 
> Have a great day people!
> 
> xoxo


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having a talk with Thea, Oliver agrees to take Laurel to lunch to try and explain what is going on with him. Meanwhile, in the real world, Thea picks up her investigation on her brother's relationship with his EA, asking none other than the man who follows her brother around all day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I won't be making a long note on this one, so here it goes:
> 
> Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter and I'm sorry if I didn't have time to answer all of you. I just wanted to say that I've seen a lot of comments about what Felicity will be doing in "Alter-world" and a lot of you have been mentioning her being together with someone, more importantly Barry. The thing is that I haven't actually thought about this, because as I see it, if Oliver never went to the Island, Slade wouldn't have been injected with the Mirakuru, which in turn would mean that he wouldn't come to Starling City with a vendetta and never injected Cyrus Gold with the Mirakuru, which was the ultimate reason for Barry to come to Starling in the first place. That would mean that if Felicity and Barry were together in this fic, they must have met somewhere else, and I don't really know if I should incorporate that in this story, since I want it to focus on Oliver finding his way back while Felicity realizes the depth of her own feelings for him in the real world. Tell me what you think and I'll think about it, okay? Because otherwise, I have an idea for Felicity, where she can be dating someone (random dude)...
> 
> Anyways, thank you once again for the lovely reviews and please enjoy the chapter! =)

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 3**

**Word count: 2,333**

* * *

"Okay," Thea finally said, pulling back from the embrace they had just shared. Oliver looked at her as she stood up from the bed. "I really need to get to school now, or else I'll be late."

"Since when are you interested in school?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her before realizing his mistake. Of course,  _this_  Thea was good in school, from what he had gathered. Not that Thea back home- or whatever- wasn't good in school when she tried, but since he had gotten back from the Island and since the Undertaking, school had been kind of secondary to her. Especially now that she had taken over Verdant. It was no secret that Thea was way better than him when it came to actually running a successful business. Honestly, he didn't know what he would have done without Tommy...

"You're weird, Ollie," she said, but there was a playful tone in the way she said it. She seemed to understand that he was referring to her supposed 'other self' so she didn't say anything other than that regarding his comment. "By the way, you should try to tone down your mental freak out, because you're kind of freaking everyone else out," she told him.

"I'll try," he rolled his eyes, but remained serious.

"Maybe you should go to lunch with Laurel?" Thea suggested. "Try to explain to her what's going on."

"How do I explain something that I don't even understand myself?" he sighed, shaking his head. Besides, Laurel had always been the logical one in their relationship. She would without a doubt call him crazy and then force him to see a therapist.

"You managed to explain it to me pretty well," Thea noted and he shrugged.

"You still think I'm crazy."

"But that doesn't mean you don't owe Laurel an explanation. I think you should prioritize that before finding these Diggle and Felicity people you keep talking about," Thea said thoughtfully. "I mean, technically, Laurel is your fiance... At least she is  _here_."

What she meant by 'here' was pretty clear, so Oliver only nodded.

"I suppose I should tell her something at least," he said. He owed her that much after scaring her this morning.

"Indeed you should," Thea said. "So, go to lunch and explain this  _phase_ , or whatever it is you're going through," she concluded with a nod.

"Okay," he replied, still not sure that he should.

"Come on, I'll be there," Thea pushed, a small smile on her face. "There's no need to be nervous."

Oliver offered her a weak smile and followed her out of the room, looking back only once, contemplating whether or not it will be worth it.

He almost ran back upstairs when he saw Laurel, his mother and his father standing by the foot of the stairs, waiting for him and Thea to descend. Laurel wasn't even trying to hide her concern and the look his parents were sharing weren't exactly reassuring either.

"Hey," he bit out, his voice sounding strangled.

"Ollie?" Laurel questioned, taking a small step forward.

"I think we need to talk," Oliver said, instantly causing Laurel's eyes to widen. "I mean, I just need to explain my strange behavior from earlier this morning," he quickly added and she seemed to let out a breath of relief.

"Ollie would like to take you to lunch, Laurel," Thea threw in. "I personally think it's a good idea," she said, looking at her parents for confirmation.

"Yes, of course!" Robert said, clapping his hands together. "You can have the rest of the day off, Oliver. Go ahead and have lunch with Laurel and then get some rest. It'll do you good."

"The day off?" Oliver asked.

"From work," Moira clarified, taking a small step toward him. "You work at Queen Consolidated, by your father's side." She seemed to be talking slower, as if he wouldn't hear her unless she was completely calm.

Oliver let her words sink in and took a deep breath, muttering an "Of course I do," to himself before turning to Laurel. "So, lunch then?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Sure," she said, still warily. Oliver couldn't help but feel quite hesitant himself.

Nevertheless, an hour later, he and Laurel were sitting in a small restaurant, eating lunch together. There was tension in the air between them and it was making him feel uncomfortable as he picked away at the food he had ordered. Where was he even supposed to begin? Thea had told him that he should try to explain to Laurel what was going on, but he didn't know how to say anything, much less  _what_  to say, so he wouldn't sound completely deranged.

In the end, it was Laurel who broke the silence and flat out asked him if he was going to tell her what had come over him.

"I don't know how to explain it," Oliver breathed, putting his fork and knife down as he looked at her. "I kind of woke up this morning and, uhm... This life that I have now, it wasn't real yesterday," he said frustratedly.

"What do you mean it wasn't real yesterday?" Laurel frowned.

"I mean that six, almost seven years ago, my father and I went on a trip to China and the Yacht was destroyed in a storm. My father died and I was marooned on an island for five years before being found and returned home," Oliver blurted. He waited for Laurel's reaction, but she just stared at him blankly.

"You must have had a realistic dream, Ollie," she dismissively said, but he could hear worry etched in her tone. "You and your dad never went to China," she informed him and he knew that  _she_  believed that, because in this world, they hadn't gone on that business trip.

That didn't mean that he wasn't one hundred percent sure that it actually had happened and there was this nagging feeling inside of him that something was off. In this world, wherever he had ended up somehow, he was apparently living the life he had always wished for. That of course also meant that it was far too good to be  _true_.

Nothing was making any sense to him and he was slowly getting a head ache. He shouldn't complain, when everything seemed to be just  _perfect_. But this perfection was  _wrong_  on so many levels that he didn't even know where to begin. Everything was clouded, like gray smoke as he tried to remember what he had done to end up here, but it was no use; he didn't remember a single thing.

He needed to talk to someone he trusted. He needed to find Diggle, like he had told Thea. Felicity too, but first of all Diggle. He needed a voice of reason and Diggle had always been that to him. Felicity was his rock and he knew he needed to look her up as well, but Diggle was his priority for now. Where should he start looking?

As he stood up Laurel watched him intently. "Where are you going?" she asked. "We haven't finished eating yet."

"I'm sorry, but I need to go," he told her quickly. "I'll call you later, okay? There's something I need to do."

"Ollie!" he heard Laurel call out after him, but he was already half-way to the exit. As he got out, he inhaled sharply before stalking up to his motorcycle and got on it. Putting on his helmet, he sped out on the street, heading to the one place he knew he would inevitably cross paths with Diggle: Big Belly Burger.

* * *

_[Real World...]_

Thea Queen was not patient when it came to learning people's secrets. After Oliver had returned from the Island, she had been the first one to bluntly ask him about how it had been there. She liked having things laid out on the table and believed that it would make everyone's lives a lot easier if there weren't any secrets.

That being said, she was also aware of the fact that she could be quite the hypocrite at times, since she too had kept her fair share of secrets from her mother  _and_  her brother after his return from the dead.

Although she knew all this, she still couldn't help herself when she found Mr. Diggle by the vending machine all alone. She was curious about her brother's relationship with Ms. Smoak, who apparently meant enough to him to have her put as his emergency contact instead of hi own mother, and who better to answer her questions than the man who spent almost every second of every day keeping an eye on said brother?

"Mr. Diggle," she said as she approached him. "Uh, John, right?"

"Diggle is fine," the older man replied, a polite smile on his face.

"Diggle," Thea confirmed, trying the name out on her tongue. The man in question looked at her with a polite smile, but she could tell that he was wondering what had brought her to him. It wasn't as if the two of them had interacted much before. "I was wondering if I could ask you something? About my brother and... Ms. Smoak?"

At her hesitancy, Diggle raised an eyebrow at her. "And what would that be exactly?" he wondered.

"Well, since you are my brother's bodyguard and driver, and I mean, you spend a lot of time with him because of that, you might have noticed that Ms. Smoak is almost always by his side too," Thea began explaining.

"That might have to do with the fact that she is his Executive assistant," Diggle pointed out, but there was something else in his tone too. He was clearly hiding something.

"I mean besides that," Thea insisted. "She's his emergency contact and no on in his family knew about it!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I think that means that they are a  _little_  more than just colleagues."

Another secretive smile appeared on Diggle's face, and for a brief moment, Thea wondered if that was something he had picked up on by spending so much time with Oliver. "They aren't just colleagues, Ms. Queen," Diggle admitted.

"I knew it!" Thea said, clapping her hands together once.

"They are also  _friends_ ," Diggle said pointedly. "Mr. Queen-  _Oliver_ , trusts Felicity, which is also the reason that he made her his E.A when he took over as CEO at Queen Consolidated. Despite the rumors for her promotion,  _that_  is the truth and neither of them have ever really cared about what is said about them behind their back, and neither should you."

Thea raised an eyebrow at him. "You think me asking you about my brother's relationship with his E.A has something to do with the rumors of him using her as his personal booty-call?" she asked. The older man just looked at her warily, but that was all the confirmation she needed. Thea simply shook her head. "No, Diggle. This has nothing to do with that. It might however have to do with the fact that Ms. Smoak apparently hasn't left Oliver's side since he was cleared to have visitors, and that whenever I have seen her together with my brother, he seems to want to have her by his side," she said.

"As I said, they are friends," Diggle insisted, visibly relaxing a little.

"Are you sure there isn't more to it? I have a feeling that you're hiding something from me," she accused.

"I don't think it's my place to say anything, Ms. Queen," Diggle said, a small smile on his face.

"Thea is fine," Thea said. "So now we're on first-name basis."

Diggle let out a small laugh and shook his head, "That doesn't mean that I'll tell you anything else regarding Oliver and Felicity. You should talk to your brother, when he wakes up."

"If he wakes up," Thea said sadly.

Diggle stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. She couldn't explain why, but the comforting gesture from the man that was still basically a stranger to her was... Well,  _comforting_. She could feel that Diggle too had grown to become a friend to Oliver, and she could see that he too was hurting because of her brother's accident.

" _When_  he wakes up," John insisted, offering her a smile. She smiled back a little, just as his gaze drifted to a point behind her. He removed his hand from her shoulder and stood a little straighter. Thea turned around and was met by Roy who was approaching them. When Roy reached them, he pressed a light kiss to her temple and then looked at Diggle. Thea looked between the two of them and was surprised when the older man gave Roy a curt nod. The bigger surprise however, seemed to be the fact that a whole conversation seemed to pass between them with just a simple look, and they seemed to come to some kind of silent agreement.

The knowing looks were confusing and deep inside, Thea fumed. All she wanted, was answers. What the hell had her brother been doing out so late and why had he been driving that damned motorcycle again when Diggle was supposed to be the one driving him around? Sure, the logical part of her brain told her that Diggle too must have someone to go home to at night and that he couldn't very well spend every second of every day by her brother's side, but she wanted to know the  _truth_  and she could tell that no one was giving it to her.

She hated secrets and most of all, she hated that her brother had clearly been keeping some from her. The only thing she could think of doing in this moment, was to find Felicity and confront  _her_  about her supposed 'only friendship' with her brother. Hopefully, the blonde would be honest with her and at least provide her with something she could work with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that the forth chapter is being written as we speak, and I'll let you know that Felicity won't appear in the dream world until chapter five... So yeah... Comments are golden! =) Thank you for reading! xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver doesn't know what to expect for his first meeting with Diggle in the world he woke up in.
> 
> Meanwhile, Thea overhears an argument in the hospital, which only gives her more questions that she wants to have answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna leave a quick little note here to tell you that I hope you'll like this chapter! Oliver's first encounter with Diggle in the dream world! =D

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 4**

**Word count: 3,211**

* * *

When he arrived at Big Belly Burger, Oliver parked his motorcycle, but didn't bother locking it up. He didn't know what else was different in this world, but he had figured, that if Carly was still working in the restaurant, he could at least ask her where he could find Diggle. It was still lunchtime and the restaurant was filled with people who were on a break from their job, ordering and eating their food quickly so they could go back to their work. He managed to find an empty booth and sat down, looking at the menu as a cover. He wasn't hungry. How could he be with everything that was going on?

A young waitress walked up to his table and asked him for his order, but he just asked her for a cup of coffee for now.

"A cup of coffee, coming right up," the young girl chirped, her eyes roaming over him, glistening every now and then. It was evident that she recognized him, but he didn't want to dwell on that.

"Excuse me." He stopped her before she could walk away and she turned around quickly, looking almost hopeful for some reason.

"Yes?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"Does someone named Carly Diggle still work here?" At his question, the young girl's face fell. She had clearly been hoping that he would ask her something else entirely.

"Uh, yeah. She has the late night shift," the girl said.

"Okay, thank you," Oliver nodded curtly. The girl seemed to want to say something else, but then walked away.

Oliver turned his attention to the driveway outside. It was early, which mean that Carly's shift wouldn't begin until later. He wasn't even sure how to bring Diggle up. In the world he had left behind, Diggle and Carly had broken up over the fact that John couldn't love her properly while his brother's killer was still out there. If Oliver and Diggle hadn't met in this world, it would mean that either Diggle hadn't taken a step forward in his relationship with Carly, or he was actually happily together with her.

He sat there silently for hours, ignoring the vibrating phone in his pocket until he finally just turned it off after sending Thea a message that he would be coming home later. The waitress came around a time or two and asked him if he was doing okay and if he needed anything else, but he declined kindly until around five in the afternoon when he finally ordered a burger and some fries.

"You know," the young waitress- Jemma, according to her name tag, said as she strolled up to him casually. "I could just give Carly a call and ask her to come here because there's someone waiting for her?"

Oliver knew how hard Carly had worked while she was still in Starling City and he wanted to say no, because he knew the woman needed her rest. Then again, he desperately needed to know where he could find Diggle, so he gave Jemma a short nod.

"It would be very kind of you," he said, playboy-smile in place. The girl nodded and walked off, taking out her phone.

Half an hour later, Oliver looked up when the bell by the door pinged, only to see Carly enter, wearing casual clothes. He sat up straighter as Carly glanced toward him before walking over to the counter to speak to Jemma. Watching the two of them make some exchanges, he noticed how Carly looked a little taken aback by something Jemma said. She glanced back at Oliver before shaking her head at Jemma and then turning around to face him. She walked over to his booth, holding the strap of her shoulder bag tightly.

"Carly," Oliver said, standing up from his seat. The woman looked at him warily and he once again reminded himself that she most likely didn't know him in this world. "Uh, my name is Oliver," he introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She looked at it but didn't take it. "I know who you are," she said. "I've read plenty about you in the gossip magazines Mr. Queen and I don't know how you've randomly learned my name, but I am not interested."

Oliver let out a breath, feeling that this wasn't going how he wished it would. Before Carly could turn around and walk away, he took a step forward. " _That_ ," he said, "is  _not_  the reason I've looked you up."

"Then what's your reason for coming here?" she frowned.

"Diggle," he replied quickly. At her confused expression, he continued, "John Diggle. I need to find him and I think you can help me."

"Why would you need to find John?" she asked. "And how do you even know him?"

"I just..." he trailed off. "A friend of mine told me that John used to be his bodyguard and that he did a very good job. I need someone to help me with the security detail on an event, and figured I could check out John for myself first." The lie wasn't  _that_  bad and it would make sense, if Diggle still worked in the private sector. Oliver looked at Carly and prayed that she would buy his lie.

"You want to hire John?" Carly asked and Oliver nodded.

"I just need to talk to him first," he said. "So, do you know where I can find him?"

Carly still looked hesitant, but nodded, taking out her own phone. "I'll call him and tell him to swing by. He had the day off today."

"Thank you," Oliver smiled at her, before sitting down again. He watched as Carly made the call and for the first time since he woke up in this world, he felt hopeful.

If he could meet up with Diggle, he might be able to convince him to listen to him and maybe, just maybe, his friend would give him some advise. Unless of course Diggle thought he had gone insane and wasn't up for listening at all. Oliver  _really_  wasn't up for getting arrested if Diggle called the cops on him.

Carly walked over to him and he looked up at her expectantly. "John will be here in twenty minutes," she told him.

"Thank you, Carly," Oliver said, offering her a smile.

"You know, something about your story doesn't make sense to me," she frowned, sitting down in front of him in the booth. "If a friend of yours was one of John's clients, shouldn't he have been able to give you his number so you wouldn't have to go through me? Which, by the way, doesn't make much sense either since I don't think any of his clients know that I even exist." She was giving him a suspicious look and he tried not to look bothered by her question.

"I do background checks on anyone that I plan to hire," he replied, and technically, it wasn't all a lie. He had checked up on Diggle's family and his personal life before even considering letting him on his secret. The same check had been done on Felicity.

"So you just found my name somewhere in his personal file? Is that even legal?" Carly quipped. She didn't look very convinced by the story he was spinning.

As Oliver thought about what to say to get the situation under control, the door opened. He looked up and saw the familiar face of John Diggle looking in their direction. He looked exactly the same as he had done yesterday, in Oliver's world...

Carly turned as well, quickly standing up from her seat. "John," she said.

"Carly, is this the man that has been bothering you?" Diggle asked, shooting Oliver a glare.

Oliver stood up to explain himself, but Carly beat him to it.

"He isn't bothering me, John," she told him. "This is Oliver Queen. He's here on business and wanted to talk to you."

Diggle looked at Oliver suspiciously before nodding curtly, holding his hand out, "John Diggle."

"Oliver Queen," Oliver breathed out, shaking his hand firmly.

"No offense, Mr. Queen, but you don't look like someone who is here on business," Diggle pointed out.

Oliver looked down at his clothes. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt under his jacket. "It's one of my casual days," he replied quickly. "Besides, I don't really know if eating burgers while wearing an expensive suit is normal here."

Diggle chuckled briefly, shaking his head before glancing back at him. He was sizing him up, trying to figure him out. Oliver knew that Diggle hadn't been easy to believe him and his white lies when he'd first started working for him as his bodyguard either, and it hadn't been until Oliver had been completely honest with him- or at least as honest as he could be at the time- that Diggle had stepped up and taken his side.

"So...Uhm, would you like to eat something while we... _discuss_ our business?" Oliver suggested lamely.

Diggle shot him another look before slowly nodding, turning back to Carly. "You should head home. You're shift doesn't begin yet, so go get some rest. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night," Diggle told her.

"I'll see you later, John," Carly replied, kissing his cheek lightly before nodding at Oliver and excusing herself. Oliver watched the exchange happen, but decided that it might be better not to pry. If Diggle was happy with Carly in this universe, it most likely meant that Lyla wasn't anywhere in the picture.

The two men sat down in the booth Oliver had occupied before and Jemma walked over to them to take their order. As they began eating, Oliver wondered to himself how exactly he should approach the subject of this all being some kind of alternate universe.

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about, Mr. Queen?" Diggle finally asked after a drawn-out silence. "Or am I going to have to sit here and stare at you for hours until you crack?"

Oliver calmly put his burger back on his plate and sighed. "I might not have been completely honest with you," Oliver admitted.

"I figured as much," Diggle replied. "You aren't very good at lying."

"You'd be surprised," Oliver chuckled.

"Tell me then, what brought you here today?" Diggle continued. "People of your social status don't normally come here."

"I'm not really sure how to begin," Oliver said. "Maybe it's better if just explain and you listen and then when I'm done, you can say whatever you want."

Diggle nodded curtly. "I'm all ears," he told Oliver, who took a deep breath.

"This morning, when I woke up, I couldn't remember a single thing I had done yesterday in this world," he began. "I woke up in a bed, next to my ex-girlfriend, who is apparently my fiance  _here_. Problem is, I don't remember ever getting back together with her, much less getting engaged to her." He paused briefly, glancing at Diggle who was listening intently. "The problem is that I have absolutely  _no_ memories about this life. I remember something else entirely. I remember that my father and I set out on our yacht for a business trip to China, approximately six years ago. I remember the boat going under in a storm and my father dying and me being stranded on an island for five years, before returning home."

When he stopped talking this time, Diggle leaned a little closer over the table. "First of all, this story you're spinning, is the definition of crazy," the man said, clearly not holding back. Oliver honestly hadn't expected anything else. "Secondly, what does that have to do with me?"

"You were my friend," Oliver replied quickly. "In this other world, you were my friend, and also one of the few people in my life that I trusted with my secrets."

"Which is crazy, because I don't know you," Diggle pointed out. "Maybe I should drive you home, Mr. Queen? I can even talk to your parents if you want and tell them that their son has gone crazy-"

"Andy," Oliver exclaimed.

He watched as John's eyes darkened. "What?" he spat.

"Your brother? Andy Diggle? He was murdered in this world too, wasn't he?" Oliver asked, desperately looking for anything in his jumbled up mind that would make Diggle believe him. "He was killed by a sniper. Curare poison bullet, am I right?"

"There is  _no way_  you can know about that," Diggle said. "Records like that are sealed."

"Which means that I'm telling the truth," Oliver claimed. "How else would I know about your brother unless you told me yourself?"

"You could have always hacked into some government network," Diggle shrugged.

"I am no Felicity Smoak," Oliver deadpanned, making Diggle frown.

"Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?" he asked.

"Another friend," Oliver supplied quickly. "I'm telling you the truth, John."

"Oh," Diggle scoffed. "I have no doubt that you believe that you're telling me the truth. I'm just saying that your idea of the truth is completely bonkers."

"I saved your life," Oliver protested in a hushed tone. "Deadshot, the sniper who killed your brother, grazed you with a bullet and you were poisoned. You got in the line of fire when I was fighting him."

"Why the hell would you be fighting a sniper?" Diggle pressed.

"Because after my return from the Island, I became the city's vigilante. I hunted down criminals like Floyd Lawton, a.k.a Deadshot, and I took them out to protect the people in this city," Oliver said. "And you helped me. You joined my crusade and we were a team. You, and I and Felicity. This life that we're living  _here_ , isn't  _real_... Or at least I don't think it is," he muttered.

"You must have hit your head somewhere," Diggle bitterly replied. "I'm sorry for any brain damage that you might be suffering from, but all this talk about vigilantism and some 'other world', is bullshit." Diggle looked at him for another moment, but Oliver refused to speak. "Get out," John finally said, nodding his head in the direction of the door. Oliver didn't really want to leave, but he could tell that he wouldn't be getting anywhere with Diggle tonight.

Taking out his wallet, he threw a couple of bills on the table, enough to cover the tab and put his business card- that he'd found in his wallet- in front of Diggle. He tapped it twice and met his friend's eyes. "If you change your mind and you feel like helping me," he explained.

"The only help you need, I can't give you," John said earnestly.

With another curt nod, Oliver walked away from the table, out of the restaurant and out on the street. He walked over to his motorcycle that still stood where he had left it.

It was getting dark outside, but he knew who he needed to see next. He would go spend the night at the mansion, not wanting to get back to Laurel tonight, and first thing in the morning, he would head over to Queen Consolidated.

If there was one person in this world that would believe him, it was Felicity.

Or at least, he hoped so.

* * *

_[Real world...]_

"This is  _all_  your fault," Thea heard her mother hiss at someone as she walked back toward Oliver's room. "If you hadn't told him the truth, he would never have felt the need to 'clear his head' and drive his bike that late!"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Queen," someone else said, "I think that if  _you_  would have told him sooner yourself, he wouldn't have found out the way he did. I didn't even want to say anything, but Oliver wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

Thea rounded the corner, only to see her mother and Felicity, her brother's E.A in an argument.

"It wasn't your secret to tell," Moira said sternly, glaring at the blonde who was still wrapped in a blanket. "All of this is  _your_  fault."

"I'm telling you that I didn't want to be the one to tell him, but I couldn't keep it from him," Felicity repeated. Her voice sounded thick and Thea realized that she was most likely crying. "I never wanted to hurt Oliver. I swear, he's my friend and I never would have told him if I had known that he would get into an accident because of it."

"I'm sure he's a  _very close_ friend you you, Ms. Smoak," Moira sarcastically said. "But that doesn't change the fact that my son is in a coma because you couldn't keep your mouth  _shut_."

"Your son is in a coma because you kept this secret from him and because you hurt him," Felicity pointed out. "I told him the truth because I thought he deserved to know."

"It was none of your business-" Moira began, but stopped abruptly when Thea stepped into her view. Felicity, who had had her back turned toward Thea, turned around and looked at her over her shoulder. The blonde's eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears, but she still managed to throw Felicity an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry, Thea," she whispered, her voice broken and Thea couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman who had just a few second ago been attacked verbally by her mother.

"It's not your fault," Thea said, walking closer to them. She shot her mother a glare. "This isn't the time to put blame on anyone. Oliver wouldn't want us to fight."

Her statement seemed to sober up her mother at least a bit, but she still shot Felicity a warning look. Moira was clearly telling Felicity silently that she shouldn't meddle with her children anymore, which meant that Felicity wouldn't be allowed to tell Thea anything about what she'd told Oliver.

"Can I have a moment to speak to you alone... Felicity, is it?" Thea asked and Felicity nodded.

"Sure Ms. Queen," she replied, already seeming to have forgotten that she'd already called Thea by her first name.

"Thea," the girl insisted, ignoring the look of protest on her mother's face as she talked to the blonde. "Maybe we should get some coffee for everyone? I saw a coffee shop just a few hallways down," she explained.

Felicity's eyes flickered from Thea and to Moira and then back again. She was hesitant, but finally she nodded. "Okay," she agreed in a whisper.

Thea offered her a small reassuring smile before turning to her mother again. "Maybe it's better if you go back to Oliver," she told her. Moira looked as if she'd just bitten down on a lemon, but nodded curtly, sending one final look Felicity's way. The blonde however didn't seem to notice, because at the mention of Oliver's name, she'd wandered off into her own thoughts.

_Interesting_ , Thea thought.

"Let's go get everyone coffee, Felicity," Thea smiled encouragingly. Felicity woke from her daze and looked at her before giving her an unsure smile.

"Okay," she said again, as Thea showed the way to the coffee shop and they walked away, leaving Moira in the hallway, still staring at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first off, I know that the real world part was a lot shorter this time, but I honestly just wanted Thea to overhear some of what Moira and Felicity were talking about so that she would get even more intrigued by Felicity's relationship with Oliver, AND more curious to know why her brother actually needed to 'clear his head'.
> 
> Also, I wanted to tell you guys that I have started the next chapter already and that it's coming along smoothly. The dream world sequence has already been written! ;)
> 
> Oh, and I've finished the alternative ending of Crumbled Papers (for those of you who have read it) but I'll see when I post it! ;) And I've gotten an idea for another one-shot, but it'll be a while until I get around to write it...
> 
> If you haven't checked out "The Quote Project" yet, it would be very nice if you did and dropped a comment too if you have the time! It's always nice to hear what you guys think! Regarding The Quote Project, if you guys have any quotes/saying/proverbs that you think can inspire one-shots, please send them my way on tumblr or in a comment on the story! ;)
> 
> Thank you for reading and supporting me!
> 
> Lots of love xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's first meeting with Felicity in the dream world makes him think about their relationship in the real world.  
> Meanwhile, Thea confronts Felicity in the real world about her relationship with Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! So we're halfway done with this story! Five chapters left after this one! =D
> 
> First off, I'm sorry for not having time to reply to reviews... I work every day of the week from 12 AM to 10 PM and it's really hard to find time to even write... Either way, I'll also be going on vacation in a week, so I'll be without Internet for like two weeks, so that'll be a little hiatus when it comes to my stories!
> 
> Hopefully, I'll find enough time to finish chapter 6 before I leave, so that I can post it, but in case I don't, you at least know why! =)
> 
> Now, please enjoy the chapter! =)

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 5**

**Word count: 3,326**

* * *

The next morning, Oliver woke up early so that he would be able to head over to Queen Consolidated without anyone following him. In this world, he worked together with his father, who was alive, which meant that his father most likely assumed that they would drive to the office together. Oliver had no desire to do so, no matter how much he had missed seeing his father alive and well.

In his mind, this world wasn't real, so there was no point in getting attached to anyone here,  _especially_  not his his father. When he returned home, his father would once again be dead and he would once again start hurting for losing him all over again.

So, to avoid that, Oliver had gotten up early and gotten dressed with the clothes he had apparently left behind when he had moved out to move in with Laurel. Thea had helped him locate them and she had been the one to convince his mother and father that it might be good for Oliver to stay the night at the mansion, instead of going home to Laurel. She had also called Laurel and told her that she had invited Oliver to stay over for a movie night, because she had missed having her brother around. When Oliver had asked Thea if Laurel had bought the story, she had simply shrugged at him and told him that it didn't matter, because he was okay to stay.

He walked down into the kitchen and opened the fridge, despite not being very hungry. Grabbing an apple, he took a bite out of it before hurrying out of the house, not wanting anyone to stop him and start interrogating him again, like they had done last night.

His mother and father had been insistently tried to get him to tell them what was going on with him and why he was acting so strangely, but once again, Thea had come to his rescue and told them the same thing she had told Laurel, that he had simply missed his sister and that he wanted to hang out with her.

Oliver got on his motorcycle, threw the apple away and put on his helmet. It was still to early to head over to Queen Consolidated's IT-department. It was just past six o'clock in the morning and he wondered whether Felicity would be there already. Why would anyone be there that early? Then again, Felicity had always had a thing for being the first one in the office after he had promoted her to being his Executive Assistant. She enjoyed being the first one to use the coffee machine in the break room and whenever he was on time, he would follow her and be second to use it as they talked about everything and nothing in privacy. However, with everything that had been going on lately. The mirakuru resurfacing and everything else, they hadn't had much time for their morning pleasantries.

He decided to take his chance, heading toward the office. There was no need for speed today, since the streets were fairly empty. The morning traffic clearly hadn't begun yet and he was glad for that. He hated rush hour and he hated being stuck in traffic when he was on a mission. His bike made it easier, of course, but even he could only do so much when the streets were filled with cars.

When he arrived, he parked his bike in front of the building, rather than driving down to the underground garage. One could never know when he would need to get out of there, so it was better to have close access to his bike, if he needed it. He walked toward the entrance slowly, his bike helmet under his arm.

"Good morning, Mr. Queen," a security guard greeted him.

"Good morning..." Oliver replied, trailing off when he realized he didn't know the guard's name. The guard didn't seem to dwell on though as he offered him a curt nod and a smile. When he walked through the glass doors, the woman at the front desk immediately stood up. "Mr. Queen," she greeted. "Good morning! You're here awfully early," she pointed out.

"I have some business to attend to in the IT-department," Oliver told her, his CEO facade in place. Of course, since his father was still alive, he probably wasn't the CEO of Queen Consolidated, but he assumed he was still a person with authority, considering how the guard and the receptionist had greeted him.

The woman's eyes flickered down to his helmet. "Would you like me to get someone to take your helmet to you office, Sir?" she asked. "And maybe some coffee? I have time."

"I'm sure you have other things to do," he waved his hand, motioning to the computer screen in front of her. "But could you please look up an employee for me, please?"

"Of course, Mr. Queen!" she exclaimed after she recovered from a slight daze. It had been the after effect of his dazzling playboy-smile. "Who am I looking up?"

"Felicity Smoak," Oliver said. "I just need to know if she's still in the same office..."

"Felicity?" the receptionist smiled uncertainly. "Why would you be in need of an IT-specialist, Mr. Queen?" she asked, before her eyes widened. "Not because I want to pry, or anything!" she clarified quickly, printing out a page. "Here are the directions to her office," she said, marking a room in the IT-department with an orange marker.

"Thank you," Oliver nodded at her. "Oh, and please, do have someone send my helmet to my office on the...?" He looked at her questioningly.

"Top floor?" she finished and he nodded.

"Just making sure you remember," he lied, happy that he now knew that he in fact  _was_  a person with authority in the building.

"Of course, Mr. Queen," the woman smiled brightly. "Have a nice day!" she called after him as he walked away, leaving the helmet on top of her desk.

He hurried to the elevator and pressed the button to Felicity's floor, glancing down at the paper in his hands. The picture was a little blurry and he got a head ache from looking at it. Shutting his eyes tightly, he crumbled the paper in his hand and as soon as he exited the elevator, he threw it into the closest recycling bin. He had seen enough to know that Felicity was still stationed where she had been when he'd first gone to her. The fact that she was still working for Queen Consolidated elated him to no end. He was happy that she, even in this world, had found her way into his life... Well, she wasn't technically a part of his life here, but she was working for his father, which meant that she was  _close_  to him...somehow.

He didn't want to think about the details any further though, because as he walked through the basically empty hallway, he could clearly see her small office in front of him. When he stepped inside, his breath caught in his throat.

She was wearing the same clothes that she had worn the first time he had come to see her, carrying Lawton's computer with him. Her hair was different though... It was still blonde, but it was pulled up in a messy bun at the top of her head and he quickly realized why. She was eating breakfast from a take-out box and clearly didn't want her hair to get in the way. Her glasses were perched low on her nose and she hadn't even heard him step inside her office, because she seemed so taken with something that she was reading on her computer.

He spoke without thinking, "Thank God you're here. I think I might be going crazy!"

She jumped in her chair and almost dropped the take-out box in her lap but caught it before she could make a mess. Looking up at him, her eyes widened, but he couldn't help but grin widely at her.

She was here. Felicity was here and he was so incredibly happy that she was, that he was having trouble coming up with something else to say.

"I'm so happy to see you, Felicity," he blurted before he could stop himself. He wondered briefly where his self-control had gone.

"Mr. Queen!" she coughed, wiping her mouth with her napkin quickly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you."

"I know," Oliver replied. "I needed to see you and I just now realized just how much I've missed you." Okay, he seriously needed to get himself under control. He could see by the expression on Felicity's face that he was freaking her out. Deep down he knew that the two of them most likely didn't know each other in this world, but he seriously couldn't contain himself.

His relationship with Felicity had always been different than the one he had with Diggle. Sure, they were both important to him and they were both his friends, but with Felicity, things had always run a little...deeper. Diggle was his brother, but Felicity was... Well, she was his partner, but also something else.

"Mr. Queen," Felicity said calmly. "Uhm, I don't mean to offend you or anything... And not just because you're my boss, but because I generally don't enjoy offending people," she explained. "But, we don't really know each other and normally, people begin a conversation with people they don't know with an introduction."

Oliver's lips were twitching.

"I mean," she began again, "as I said, I know who  _you_  are...  _Sir_. Should I call you 'Sir' or does that sound like something you would call an older man? I mean, you're older than  _me_ , but not by much, so I don't really think I would have to call you 'Sir', because then I would indicate that I'm old too, which I'm  _not_..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath to stop herself from rambling further. "What I wanted to say was that I know who you are, Mr. Queen, but I have no clue how or  _why_  you would even know  _my name_ , let alone start up a conversation as if we've known each other for years, which we haven't." She chuckled a little, trying to hide her awkwardness, but it only warmed Oliver inside.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. The smile that graced his lips was the first genuine smile he had given since this entire thing happened. "I'm still very happy to see you," he told her, deciding to ignore her still befuddled expression. Glancing at her desk, he realized that she had huge stacks of papers on it. "I can see that you're busy though," he drawled. "Could I maybe meet up with you after work? I would like to take you out to coffee-"

"Mr. Queen," she interrupted, her eyes wide. He watched her curiously and waited for her to continue. She only looked at him for another moment with that same baffled expression. "I'm truly sorry, but I'm going to have to be blunt with you: I can't put my job on the line like that, just because my boss' son, who is also my boss, asks me to go grab a coffee with him randomly."

"I need to talk to you about something, Felicity," Oliver insisted, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I just can't risk my job like that," she told him.

"You're  _not_  going to get fired," Oliver said, a bitter taste in his mouth as he tried to chuckle. "It's just two friends getting coffee together."

"Except that the two of us aren't friends," Felicity pointed out. Her statement stung-  _a lot_. "We hardly even know each other. To be honest, I think this is the first time I've ever personally met you. Besides, I don't think your father would appreciate me going to coffee with his son, who is engaged to his long-time girlfriend."

"Felicity," Oliver sighed again, but she shook her head at him again.

When he opened his mouth to speak again though, a knock on the door interrupted him. He turned around, only to see Walter sticking his head inside Felicity's office.

"Oliver," he greeted. "Good morning to you, Ms. Smoak," he nodded at Felicity.

"Good morning, Mr. Steele," she greeted brightly, as if she hadn't just been having a serious conversation with Oliver.

Walter nodded and turned to Oliver again. "Your father has requested to speak to you in his office," he told him. "He was surprised to hear that you were in the building this early. Apparently he had hoped that you had gone home to Ms. Lance."

"Whatever it is, can it wait?" Oliver asked. "I was having an important conversation with Ms. Smoak here," he added, trying to sound professional about it.

"I'm afraid not," Walter said, looking suspiciously between him and Felicity. Oliver glanced at Felicity, who had turned her face back to the computer, trying to pretend that she wasn't hearing their conversation. There was a slight blush covering her cheeks and Oliver couldn't help but think that she had never looked more beautiful.

"Okay then," Oliver finally relented. "I hope you'll have time to talk later, Ms. Smoak," he said.

"I'm very busy, Mr. Queen," Felicity replied. "I'm sure you can understand that."

"Either way, I hope you'll make time to see me later..." he mumbled, hating that she was refusing to look him in the eye. If she would only do so, she might see the honesty shining in them and magically believe him. But no, things were proving to be very difficult in this alternate world he had woken up in.

"I was told to personally escort you to your father," Walter told him, interrupting his thoughts.

"Okay," Oliver said, sparing one last glance at Felicity before following the older man.

He instantly felt like he had lost something important, when he reached the elevator and headed up to the top floor.

* * *

_[Real World...]_

Thea and Felicity made their way through the hallways of the hospital, side by side. Silence had fallen between them, but it wasn't necessarily an uncomfortable one.

Despite the fact that Felicity had been Oliver's Executive Assistant for some time now, the two of them had never really interacted with each other, except for that one time that Felicity had greeted the Queen's after Moira was released from prison. They walked to a coffee machine and Thea stepped forward to fill two cups for them, eying the blonde who stood with her head slightly bowed, looking at her feet. She was wearing her pajamas still and still had that blanket draped over her shoulders.

"Why don't we sit town in the dining room?" Thea suggested.

Felicity responded by nodding a little numbly before taking the steaming cup of coffee from the younger Queen's hands. "Thank you," Felicity said, taking a small sip.

They walked to the designated dining room and sat down at a table in the corner.

"Aren't you a little cold?" Thea asked.

"I didn't have time to get dressed when I got the phone call about the accident," Felicity explained. "Honestly, I've just now started feeling the cold."

"I can make a call to the mansion and have someone bring over some clothes for you, if you want? I'm sure most of my clothes should fit you fine," Thea softly said.

A tiny flame of hope flickered inside of her when she saw Felicity's lips turn up in a small smile.

"Thank you," she replied. "It's a very kind offer, but I would never want you to have to go through any trouble because of me."

"Felicity," Thea shook her head. "It's fine. I'll just text someone in the staff. They'll bring over some pants and a shirt in like fifteen minutes."

Felicity opened her mouth again, as if to argue, but then shuddered instead. It was really chilly in the hospital and the adrenaline she had probably built up during her earlier argument with Thea's mother was most likely wearing off.

"Okay," was the blonde's only response.

Thea immediately texted Raisa and asked her to send over someone with clothes.

"So," Thea began again, once she put her phone on the table. "How are you doing?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes a little, but looked amused. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" she inquired. "He's your brother..." she added, her voice a small whisper.

"But he's your something too, isn't he?" Thea asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oliver is a close friend of mine and also my boss," Felicity replied, pretty much automatically, as if she had been rehearsing the answer to that question in the mirror.

Thea eyed her carefully. "Can we please be real with each other?"

"What do you mean? I am  _very_  serious," Felicity insisted.

"First of all, Oliver made  _you_  his emergency contact," Thea pointed out.

"I'm his Executive Assistant. I keep track of all of his records for him, including the medical ones," Felicity replied automatically, as if she had rehearsed it a thousand times over in her head.

"Secondly, you got here in nothing but your pajamas after you heard he had been in an accident," Thea continued, narrowing her eyes at the blonde who seemed insistent on not giving anything away. If Thea didn't know any better, she would think that Felicity was even better than Diggle at keeping things from slipping out.

"I told you that we're friends too," Felicity said.

"And you didn't leave his side until after my mom and I got to the hospital, and even  _then,_ the doctor had to tell you that we were there and you asked for a few more minutes."

"Close friends," Felicity repeated.

Thea groaned. "Felicity," she said. "I can clearly see that you have feelings for my brother and even though you're trying to hide it, you're not much of a liar when you're upset."

A slight blush crept up on Felicity's cheeks and Thea found her to be absolutely adorable when she was flustered.

"I do  _not_  have feeling for Oliver," Felicity scoffed dismissively. "And even if I did, I don't think it would be anyone's business but my own."

"And his," Thea added for her. "And I don't want to make you feel cornered or anything, but if this accident teaches us anything, I think it's that you should tell Oliver how you feel, when he wakes up."

Thea watched as the blonde in front of her contemplated her words. She was in deep thoughts and Thea really wanted to know what was running through her mind. Finally, a tear slipped down Felicity's face and Thea felt her heart clench at the sight.

"I don't want to admit to anything," she said, her voice thick with tears. "But what if it's too late?" Some more tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. "He's been in a coma for almost a day now and the doctors told me that they aren't one hundred percent sure when or  _if_  he'll wake up."

A sob racked Felicity's body and Thea felt hot tears slip down her own face. Why hadn't she heard about this yet? Why did the doctors insist that Oliver would be fine if they weren't completely sure yet?

"This is just my luck," Felicity said. "The last guy I liked ended up in a coma too and now Oliver..." she trailed off burying her face in her hands as she let out a sob.

Without thinking, Thea stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. Felicity fell into the embrace immediately and cried against the younger Queen's shoulder.

"He'll be okay, Felicity," Thea insisted. "If he isn't, we'll kill him together," she tried to joke, managing to get a broken chuckle from Felicity.

They stayed like that, embracing and comforting each other. After a while, neither of them felt that alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww! Thea and Felicity bonding...! One of my favorite things to write!
> 
> And I'm sorry for those of you who hoped that Felicity would be more understanding than Diggle! As I mentioned once: things won't be smooth sailing for Oliver in the dream world! ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one! And to all of you who read the alternative ending for Crumbled Papers, thank you for the lovely reviews! You give me strength to keep writing with all your support and lovely words! =)
> 
> xx


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the dream world Oliver has a chat with his father and a couple of things are revealed.  
> Meanwhile, the Lance's arrive at the hospital and Sara asks to speak to Felicity, revealing a few things of her own...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back from my vacation and I had a blast! =D Now I'm rested and I have some time until school starts again, so I'll be able to write and hopefully finish this story soon... Just four chapters left on this one! ;)
> 
> Either way, I truly hope the rest of you have had a wonderful Summer break and for those of you who have been busy working, I really hope you find a day or two to just relax!
> 
> Hopefully you'll like this little chapter! ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 6**

**Word count: 3,045**

* * *

Oliver followed Walter through the hallways of Queen Consolidated. It was still early, so the few people that were there watched him warily as he head his head held high walking past them. Clearly, they weren't used to seeing him there at such and early hour.

"Your father told me that he was worried about you, Oliver," Walter said, his British accent giving Oliver a sense of familiarity.

"Oh?" Oliver inquired, not knowing what else to say to his statement.

"Is everything okay with you, Oliver?" Walter continued.

"Never felt better," Oliver replied, and this time it was actually half-true. His meeting with Felicity might not have gone better than his meeting with Diggle, but just seeing her in her small office had been enough to give him strength to keep going.

The fact that both Diggle and Felicity existed in this world too meant that he just needed to find a way to convince them to hear him out. It would be difficult, yes, but he couldn't give up that easily. The Felicity Smoak and John Diggle that he knew would never allow it! They would tell him that there was another way and that he just needed to think hard enough to figure it out.

Walter stepped to the side after opening a door. Oliver hadn't even realized it, but they had reached the top floor, and finally stood in front of his father's office door.

"I found him wandering around in the IT-department," Walter told Robert, who was sitting with his hands clasped in front of him behind his desk.

"The IT-department, Oliver?" Robert said, looking over at him confusedly. "Why would you be walking around down there?"

"I needed some help with some...issues..." Oliver mumbled, still finding it difficult to look into his father's eyes. "Computer related issues, that is."

Robert didn't look like he was buying it, but nodded nonetheless. He turned to face his friend instead. "Would you please excuse us, Walter."

The other man nodded, glancing over at Oliver one more time before stepping out of the office.

Oliver looked at everything in the office, except for his father. There were pictures on the walls, of him and Thea but also of Robert himself. There was only one frame with his mother in it too, and that one was a picture of his mother and father's wedding day, that he knew he had seen over the fireplace at the mansion in the world he came from. Other than the pictures, there was nothing else that made the office feel "homey" with personal touches. Sure, he hadn't been very keen on personalizing his own office in the other world, but Felicity had made sure that he would at least have a picture or two of Thea and his mom hanging around. Although, he did know that she personalized her own desk with colorful pencils and notebooks and she always kept her favorite book close to her, in case she got bored...

Where were his thoughts going? He felt a surge of pain in his head all of the sudden, and he closed his eyes, trying not to wince visibly.

"Laurel called me yesterday," Robert Queen began, forcing Oliver to look at him. "She told me that you left her at lunch and that you didn't call her back. Then Thea spun some story about missing you and you spent the night at the mansion."

"I had a meeting," Oliver said. "I lost track of time and it was important... I'll apologize to Laurel for worrying her."

"And then you left for the office  _early_ ," Robert continued calmly. "And you went down to the IT-department... To see Ms. Smoak."

Oliver's tongue felt like lead and his breath hitched in his throat. Of course his not-dead-father would know where he had gone this morning  _and_  proceed to think that he was cheating on Laurel. Because that was exactly what he was thinking, and Oliver knew it with every fiber of his being.

"Ms. Smoak helped me with some computer problem," Oliver said quickly. "And I figured I should get it solved early so that I wouldn't waste any office hours."

His father watched him, clearly unimpressed.

"Hmm..." he hummed, not saying anything else for a while.

Oliver didn't even dare to move. It still bothered him that his father was somehow alive in this world and it made him uneasy to be around him. It wasn't real, but deep inside he almost wished it was...at least for this particular part.

"Why the sudden need to act so strangely, Oliver?" his father asked him.

"I told you already," Oliver retorted, "and I don't want to repeat myself again.

"Yes, yes... I know. The boat accident, me dying and you living on an island," Robert chuckled, but he didn't sound amused at all. In fact, there was a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.

"It's not just  _that_ ," Oliver insisted, feeling like he needed to convince his father that he was telling the truth. "When I returned home, you had given me a list of names of people who have corrupted this city. Mom had re-married and Thea was doing drugs and having problems with alcohol. And it was  _real_."

Robert contemplated something for a while, quietly eying him. "It must have been a very vivid nightmare, Oliver," he finally said.

Oliver almost groaned in frustration, wondering why he was even bothering to try to convince anyone that this world that he had ended up in was just a dream or something. "It wasn't a nightmare," he insisted. "It was  _real_. Mom kept secrets and lied and I took it upon myself to bring down the people on your list!"

"Enough of this nonsense," his father said, slamming his hand on the desk. His voice was still calm as he spoke though, "You should be happy that it was only a dream and that things aren't as you describe them."

Oliver couldn't believe this was happening- Actually, he  _could_  believe it was happening. His father overseeing him wasn't something that he wasn't used to. At least it was a common thing when his father was alive and well, when his parents let him get away with murder and never actually bothered to be real parents.

"You also shouldn't bother Ms. Smoak anymore," Robert continued, his voice ever neutral. "We wouldn't want the poor girl to go to the Human Resource department and file a harassment report, would we?"

"Felicity is my friend-" Oliver began, but his father waved a hand around so that he would stop talking.

"Oliver," his father sighed. "Would you mind getting your head checked for any injuries?"

"What?" Oliver stared. The completely random question that had come out of his father's mouth had caused him to backtrack. It was as if he was hearing something around him all of the sudden...voices... He put two fingers to his temple and rubbed it, trying to ease the pain that had suddenly struck him.

"Would you mind getting your head x-rayed? To check for any injuries you might have gotten when you fell down the stairs a couple of days ago," Robert elaborated.

"I fell down the stairs?" Oliver asked. Why didn't he remember this?

"Yes," Robert nodded. "You were running down the stairs because you were late for a lunch date with Laurel, when you tripped on the carpet and fell down the stairs and hit your head. You were conscious though, so you just rested instead of going to the hospital."

"I don't even remember this," Oliver mumbled, trying desperately to recall the event but coming up empty. "Okay," he finally nodded. "I'll go get my head checked out, just to make sure that everything is as it should be."

Honestly, it would make him feel a lot better if he knew that he wasn't suffering from some disease that was making him slowly go crazy.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I better head home and rest some more," Oliver said, checking his watch. "I'm not feeling very well."

If he got out of the building early, he might be able to catch Felicity before she leaves. Then there was the small risk that she might think he had begun stalking her, but he prayed to God that she wouldn't because he just needed  _one_  good thing to happen for him in this world. Just one small step of going forward with something, hopefully in the right direction.

Oliver started for the door, when his father mentioned someone and made him freeze over. He turned around quickly and stared at his father, "What did you say?"

His father once again clasped his fingers together on top of the desk. "I said that it's at times like these that I wish that Tommy was here, so that he could help you get through whatever it is that you're going through."

Tommy.

What if Tommy was around somewhere? What if his best friend was alive and could help him? Tommy would without a doubt at least believe him enough so that they could figure things out together, just like Thea was trying to help him.

"And Tommy is...?" Oliver wondered out loud, not daring to finish the sentence.

"Gone," Robert finished for him bitterly. "He passed away two years ago; overdosed on pills and alcohol. It changed you," he stated.

Oliver swallowed thickly, feeling that awful pain flare up inside of him again. It was like losing Tommy all over again. He didn't say anything else to his father. Instead, he just walked out of that office and straight into one of the bathrooms before locking the door.

He ran to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, not bothering if he got his suit wet. He stared at himself in the mirror, wondering how things could have gone so wrong somehow. There were a few things in this world that were good too, but it was unfamiliar and unlike anything he had ever imagined. If the Queen's Gambit hadn't capsized, his father hadn't killed himself and he hadn't ended up on that island for five years, he  _would_  most likely have been engaged to Laurel and Thea wouldn't ever have struggled with drugs. But realizing that his best friend still would have died, because of pills that they probably popped together, made his entire body shake. Not only that, but Diggle and Felicity wouldn't be anywhere in his life...

He washed his face again, deciding that it was better to just let it go, at least for a little while so that he wouldn't hurt himself any more than he already had, emotionally. If checking his head for any injuries was the way to maybe learn something else about this whole nightmare, that would be the first thing he would do.

* * *

_[Real world...]_

Sara Lance got the news about Oliver the next day. She had spent the night at her father's house after she had gone home from the lair and her mother had refused to leave her, so she had followed. Sara wasn't naïve to think that her parents would now magically get back together, and the fact that Laurel blamed her for everything that had gone wrong these last five, almost six, years, didn't make things easier for her.

So, she had had a moment of weakness. Oliver had been upset too and the two of them had slept together. This all led to Sara feeling extreme guilt wash over her when she spotted Felicity, Diggle and Roy standing together by some vending machines when she arrived at the hospital.

"Felicity," Sara said, hurriedly walking over to the blonde and the other two persons. "I came as soon as I heard. How is he?"

"No change yet," Felicity said, holding a cup of coffee tightly in her hands. Her eyes were red-rimmed, which meant that she had been crying. Sara understood, she truly did. She also understood when Oliver had told her that what happened between them that night couldn't happen again, inadvertently making it clear that it wasn't about Laurel.

"The doctors kept him in a medically induced coma after the surgery so that any swelling that might have occurred on the brain could go down. They stopped giving him the medication, but he still hasn't woken up," Diggle explained.

"Do they know if he ever will?" Sara asked, deciding that it was better to get straight to the point. She didn't fail to notice how Felicity flinched and looked down at her feet.

"We're trying to keep our hopes up," Diggle answered. "He's at least breathing on his own, so that's a plus."

Roy didn't say anything, but Sara could tell that the whole situation made him uneasy. The fact that his new mentor had been so easily broken, and the fact that the pain hadn't been inflicted in battle, seemed to shake him. This whole thing with Oliver proved that none of them were invincible. Oliver had just been driving around on his bike to blow off some steam when he had crashed. It was as simple as that and it could have happened to any one of them.

"Ollie!" a voice rang out behind Sara, making her turn around quickly. Laurel was running to the doctors, their parents following her. Sara noticed how her sister glanced her way when one of the nurses told her something and the look quickly turned into a glare.

"Should we talk to her?" Felicity asked. "I feel like we should say something..."

"I don't think Laurel wants to speak to either of us," Sara told her confidently. "You clearly got the call before she did and I only found out because my dad called me."

"Felicity is Oliver's emergency contact," Roy piped up. "She got the first call and then called Diggle, who then called Mrs. Queen and Thea once Oliver was out of surgery."

"Sorry for not calling you," Felicity mumbled, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"It's okay," Sara said, putting a reassuring hand on the other blonde's shoulder. The small smile that graced her lips faded soon though. "Felicity, can I talk to you in private please?" she asked seriously.

Felicity looked a little startled by the request but nodded. "Y-Yes, of course," she stuttered, glancing toward what Sara assumed was Oliver's room one last time.

Sara led her a little further down the hallway, so that they could speak without anyone's interference. She didn't really know how to approach the subject, so she decided just to be blunt about it. "Oliver and I slept together," she blurted.

Felicity's face remained impassive, which impressed Sara immensely. The only thing that gave away just how much Sara's statement had hurt her, had been her eyes, and that was only for a brief second.

"It didn't mean anything though," Sara added. "We were both upset and we needed to vent... I guess it was mostly just convenient that we were both there-"

"Sara, stop," Felicity calmly said. "You don't need to explain yourself to me and neither does Oliver. I don't really care about what happened or what it  _didn't_  mean... All I want is for Oliver to wake up and get better."

There wasn't any anger in Felicity's tone, just pure defeat. She was clearly tired and upset about Oliver's accident and he was her main priority. Whatever had happened between him and Sara honestly didn't seem to bother her and truthfully, it looked almost as if Felicity had been expecting it to happen.

"Oliver is lucky, you know?" Sara smiled. "To have found someone like you, I mean."

"What do you mean?" Felicity frowned. "We're friends and friends care about each other."

"The way that you and Oliver care about each other goes way beyond friendship, Felicity," Sara pointed out. "Which is probably why he felt so guilty after what we did." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "What I mean is that he is lucky to have found someone who doesn't judge him for his mistakes and is loyal, no matter what. I'm glad he's found the same thing I had with Nyssa, at least for a while."

"You make me sound like a dog," Felicity said, a small smile appearing on her face before she got serious again. "We all make mistakes, Sara. It's what makes us human. Oliver is no different in that aspect, unless he's hiding some fangs that appear on a full moon..."

Sara chuckled, despite herself, feeling tears stinging her eyes. "As I said, he's lucky to have you."

A comfortable silence fell between them and for a moment, Sara didn't know what else to say. Luckily for her, Felicity was the one who spoke next.

"Do you ever wonder, what your life would be like if you hadn't gotten on that boat with Oliver?" she asked. "I mean, do you wonder what our lives would have been like if you hadn't gotten on the Queen's Gambit?"

Sara contemplated it for a moment, her mind flashing images of her away at college and graduating, Laurel and Oliver still being together, Oliver's father being alive and her never becoming a vigilante.

"It doesn't matter," Sara said, shaking her head. "Because no matter how screwed up our lives are at the moment, I am so incredibly happy that I have gotten the chance to be a part of something bigger, with Oliver, Diggle, Roy and  _you_."

Felicity nodded and smiled at her again. "You will always be a part of our little team, no matter what you decide to do next. I understand that things are tense with your sister right now and I can almost bet that you're thinking about running away again, but I want you to know that. You are always welcome in  _our_  family."

Sara's heart warmed at Felicity's words and she couldn't help but smile back at the blonde.

"I am honored, Felicity," she said. "And I'm thankful to have such a wonderful friend like you."

Felicity grinned at her and gently took her hand, pulling her along. "Let's go check on Oliver," she said.

Sara simply nodded, following the blonde back to the rest of their dysfunctional family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so it might have been a little on the shorter side, but at least we're going in the right direction! =) And yeah, Tommy is dead in the Alternative world... =/ On the positive note, there will be more Diggle and Felicity in the alternative world in the next chapter, which is all planned out! ;) I'll be writing tonight!
> 
> Lots of love! xx


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the dream world Oliver gets his head checked. On his way out, he bumps into a familiar face, which leads to an impromptu lunch and a challenge.  
> Meanwhile in the real world Felicity is sick and tired of not knowing whether Oliver will really wake up or not, so she confronts his doctor when they take him out of the x-ray room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when you completely miscalculate and say that there are only three chapters left when you should have said four? Well, after THIS chapter, there are only three chapters left of this fic! ^^
> 
> Either way, I worked really hard on finishing this chapter today and I sincerely hope that you guys will enjoy it! There's almost no Laurel there, but quite a lot dreamverse!Felicity! ;)
> 
> Please, if you have time, check out my latest fic "Hunted", an Olicity Supernatural AU story! ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 7**

**Word count: 3.956**

* * *

The next morning Oliver woke up with a head ache.

After getting home to the mansion yesterday, his father and mother had decided to gang up on him and told him that he couldn't stay with them, because Laurel was waiting for him at their apartment. They had basically thrown him out of the house, despite Thea's pleas for them to let him stay just one more night because she missed her brother. Clearly, they had outplayed their cards on that one.

Normally, Oliver would have gone to Diggle's place, knowing that he was always welcome there, but considering how things were in this alternative universe, he wasn't so sure that Diggle would be as welcoming as he usually was. So, instead of fussing over it, like he normally would, he decided to go to Laurel's place.

He slept on the couch tough, because that was the  _only_ place he was comfortable sleeping in. Laurel tried to push him to talk to her, but he refused, not sure of what else there was to say to her.

He had always imagined a life like this with her; a life where he could be happy and deep inside, he wondered whether he could ever have a had it all.

If he hadn't gotten on that boat with Sara, would he have stayed with Laurel? Would he have gotten engaged to her instead of becoming a killer and would Tommy still not have been able to escape death? Would Sara be happy in Central City with someone else like she was in this universe?

There were so many questions running around in his head that he didn't even understand how he had managed to get some sleep.

The main point is that he did manage to close his eyes and fall into a slumber. Early in the morning, he woke up and let himself out of the apartment before Laurel could once again catch him and confront him. Thea had sent Oliver a text message the night before, telling him that their father had made an appointment with the doctors at Starling's General Hospital and that she would try to skip school so that she could be there for him. He had in turn told her that he would be fine and that she shouldn't skip school on his behalf.

Oliver arrived at the hospital alone and deep in thoughts. He checked in and the nurses immediately took him to examination room where an older doctor came to check up on him. As Oliver took off his shirt, he was briefly startled.

There were no scars.

No scars and no tattoos.

And the worst thing was, that he found himself missing them.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Queen?" the doctor asked as he checked Oliver's heart rhythm.

"Oliver, please," Oliver muttered. "Mr. Queen is my father."

"Oliver," the doctor nodded, scribbling down something in his notes.

"I guess I'm feeling...stressed," Oliver settled, not really sure what other word would better explain the feelings that were all jumbled up inside of him.

The doctor nodded and wrote something else down before taking him to the x-ray room.

The whole examination didn't take more than half an hour, but then Oliver had to wait around until the pictures from his x-ray came back. He stood up in the private room he had been assigned when the doctor stepped in again.

"Everything seems to be in order, Oliver," the doctor told him. "You're recovering just fine from your fall."

It didn't make much sense, especially since Oliver couldn't even recall falling down the stairs in the first place. "Are you sure that everything is fine?" Oliver asked and the doctor nodded.

"Don't worry about it," the doctor said. "You'll be back to your normal self in a day or two, but I would suggest that you stay at a friends house in the meantime."

"Oh?"

"Yes, so that you can rest without having your family hanging over you," the doctor explained. "I understand that it can be very stressful at times and you need the rest and a chance to clear your head if you're going to recover properly." The doctor paused briefly, looking at him. "You do have a place to stay, don't you?" he inquired.

Oliver nodded, despite knowing that he didn't really. He would figure it out though, or at least he hoped he would.

When Oliver was finally allowed to leave the hospital, he couldn't believe the sight that greeted him. Outside of the main entrance, stood a nervous looking blonde with glasses, wrapped tightly in a navy coat. She met his gaze as he walked up to her, various feelings that he couldn't name bubbling up inside of him.

"Felicity?" he asked, not being able to help the small smile that made its way onto his face. "What are you doing here?"

She shifted on her feet and looked around them for a moment before looking back at him. "I heard from Jenny in the copy-room that you were in the hospital," she told him. "And... For some  _weird_  reason, I felt obligated to come check on you."

Her words couldn't have made him happier. The fact that she had felt obligated to come and see him in the hospital could only mean one thing. She felt  _something_  for him, just as he felt something for her. Even though he knew that she thought he was crazy yesterday, he couldn't help but hope that she had given his words a thought during the night. Perhaps she was willing to give him another chance?

"I, uhm..." he trailed off, not wanting to ruin the small win that he felt he had somehow gotten. "Are you free for lunch maybe?" he asked. "I have the day off from Queen Consolidated and well, you're already here."

Felicity checked her watch and bit her lip, looking back up at him. "I'm not sure if it's a very good idea," she mumbled, but there was a softness in her eyes that hadn't been there the day before.

During their first meeting, she had clearly not only been taken by surprise, but she had also believed that he was completely insane. Now though, it seemed like she was more open to the idea of talking to him.

"I promise you won't get into trouble," he told her quickly. "I'll cover for you."

She contemplated it for a second before reluctantly nodding, "I am a little hungry."

"I know just the place," he said, a smile blooming on his face once again.

-§-

"Big Belly Burger?" Felicity read as she stepped out of her mini. "Why do I find it so hard to believe that Oliver Queen finds burgers and fries a good thing to eat on a Tuesday?"

"Do burgers and fries have to have a scheduled day?" Oliver inquired, smiling lightly at her as he motioned for her to walk inside.

"No, but the fact that you even know about this place is hard to believe," she admitted. "You rich people don't exactly strike me as burger people." She cringed as she realized what she had said and he just watched her. "Of course I meant that with the utmost respect and not just because you're my boss. I mean, you seem like a nice guy, even though your past doesn't exactly make you out to be one." She stopped again and shook her head at herself. "God, I say the worst of things. I'm sorry," she said, giving him an apologetic look.

"It's refreshing to meet someone who at least speaks her mind," he said. It was the truth though, because he had never met anyone like Felicity, in this life and the other, who spoke his or her mind like her. Sure, most of the time it had to do with the fact that her brain-to-mouth filter wasn't working, but refreshing, nevertheless.

"It would be a nice thing to be able to control the things you say though," Felicity said, walking toward a booth. Oliver couldn't help but beam at her and reluctantly, she smiled back. Oliver watched her as she picked the table and he was a little surprised to see her chose the table that they usually sat at with Diggle.

Was there some subconscious part of her that was connected to the life that he remembered so vividly? How else would she have known to pick that particular table?

"Mr. Queen?"

Felicity's voice shook him from his thoughts. He looked up at her and saw the waitress waiting for him to order.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "I'll have whatever she ordered along with a strawberry milkshake." The waitress nodded and walked off, scribbling on her notepad. He looked back at Felicity who was glaring at the table.

"Hey," he said, reaching for her hand across the table, but she pulled it back before he had a chance to take hers. He halted, afraid that he might have pushed things too far with her. His brain still sometimes forgot that things were different in this world. Felicity wasn't his partner and friend here; she was just his employee. She wasn't used to him reaching over and putting a comforting hand on her in this world. Here, she probably saw it as a form of harassment.

"Look," Felicity said, swallowing hard. "I want to get something straight with you. The  _only_  reason I agreed to come to lunch with you, an  _engaged_  man, is because I'm curious about why you suddenly walked into my office claiming that we know each other. I hate mysteries and it's been bugging me since yesterday, so I want you to come clean about that so I might actually get a good nights sleep tonight."

Of course that was the real reason she had agreed to lunch. Felicity would never actually go out with a man who was engaged, especially not someone who had acted as crazily as him when he had walked into her office.

"I can try to explain," Oliver began slowly, "but you'll most likely think I'm crazy. And please, call me Oliver."

"I think it's a little late to be warning me about your possible craziness, Oliver," Felicity muttered as the waitress brought their food. She dug into her fries, looking at him as if she expected him to launch into an explanation at any moment.

A small part of him hoped that she would still be willing to stay once he told her his story. He had decided the night before that if she asked him, he would tell her and he hoped, deep inside, that she would believe him, just like she did in the world he came from.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when his phone started ringing. Looking down at his pocket once, he turned his gaze back to Felicity, who popped another fry into her mouth.

"Aren't you going to get that?" she wondered.

"Yeah, of course," he said, picking the phone up, trying not to show hiss embarrassment. He was actually hoping to ignore the call altogether so that he could enjoy this lunch with Felicity and talk things over with her. "Hello?"

" _Mr. Queen_ ," Diggle said on the other line. " _Oliver, right?_ "

"Diggle," Oliver said, honestly surprised. "You called."

The statement was met by a sigh, " _Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself. Unfortunately though, the things you said about Andy got under my skin and I would like to meet up with you and talk. Would you mind coming to Big Belly Burger?_ "

"I'm actually at Big Belly Burger now," Oliver said, glancing at Felicity. "And I have company, but I don't think she'll mind. She's sort of here for the same reason as you're coming, so maybe I can explain myself to the both of you."

" _Okay, I'm already on my way,_ " Diggle replied.

"See you soon," Oliver said, hanging up.

"Another date?" Felicity mused.

Oliver smiled, "Are you calling this a date?"

"I meant  _lunch date_ ," she retorted. "As in  _just_  lunch, no date."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle as the blush spread across her cheeks, making her look even more lovely than she usually looked. "Actually, it was another one of my friend. I have some explaining to do to him too," he admitted.

"So it's a 'friend' like me then? Did you ambush him in his office too?" she asked teasingly, reaching over to grab one of his fries before stopping herself and pulling back. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

He pushed the fries toward her and her lips quirked up before she took one and put it in her mouth. Watching Felicity eat fries had suddenly made his day a lot better, for some weird reason.

"Is that your friend?" Felicity asked, motioning to someone behind him. He turned around and indeed, Diggle had just walked in.

Oliver stood up and held out his hand and Diggle shook it without as much as a though. Then, the older man turned to Felicity and the two of them exchanged quick introductions before Diggle sat down next to her so that they could both face Oliver.

"Now, will you please explain how you knew about my brother?" Diggle asked after ordering something to eat.

"Oh, and do tell how you know  _me_ ," Felicity added, looking at him expectantly.

How was he even supposed to begin?

"How am I supposed to convince you that I know you, without also making you think that I'm nuts?" Oliver asked them. "You won't just believe me if I tell you that I woke up a few days ago, in this world, where nothing is as it's supposed to be."

"You could try to make a case on actually  _knowing us_ first," Felicity suggested. "Maybe we'll be more open to hearing you out then."

It did make sense, somehow. Oliver decided that he would try it and somehow, the first thing that came out of his mouth was turned toward Diggle, "You already know that I know about your brother."

Diggle nodded, his jaw tightening as he thought about Oliver had revealed the last time they had seen each other.

"Well, I also know about Lyla," Oliver said. Diggle's eyes widened and Felicity looked between the two of them before leaning a little closer across the table.

"Wait, who's Lyla?" she frowned.

"She's Diggle's ex-wife," Oliver explained. "They met while they were on tour, fell in love, got married. But then, their work tore their marriage apart and it was a mutual decision to end things. Diggle went back on another tour and she joined some organization..." Oliver trailed off, not knowing how much he was supposed to say about that.

"Okay, I'm convinced that  _something_  strange is going on here," Diggle said. "There is no way in hell that you could know all that about me."

"I know that because you told me yourself," Oliver sighed. "You told me and Felicity, when we went to Russia to rescue Lyla after she was kidnapped."

"I've never been to Russia," Felicity said. "Although, I wouldn't mind going to-"

"Tahiti," Oliver finished for her. She watched him, blinking. "You wouldn't mind going to Tahiti, I know."

"But  _how_  can you know?" Felicity countered, looking a little scared now. "I wasn't even sure what I was going to say myself and you just... You just  _knew_."

"I  _know_  you, Felicity," Oliver sighed. "I know it's a difficult thing to believe, but I am telling the truth. Please," he begged. "Believe me."

Diggle and Felicity looked at each other for a moment and then turned back to Oliver. They didn't believe him. They  _couldn't._ No sane person would, Oliver realized.

"Look," he said. "I'm sorry if this is freaking you out, and I don't mean to intrude or anything, but my doctor told me that I needed to stay at a friend's house for a few days while I cleared my head. I can't stay at Laurel's-  _My_ place and I really don't have anywhere else to go..." he trailed off, hoping they would understand what he was asking them.

"I would offer you a place to stay," Diggle began, "even though I'm still not sure I should. Problem is that I'm currently staying with Carly and A.J. because my own apartment is being renovated."

Oliver nodded before turning his gaze to Felicity, who was furiously biting her lower lip.

"I have a spare room," she said. "But I'm not really sure why I'm telling you that because all of  _this_ ," she motioned between the three of them, "is  _crazy_."

Oliver shut his eyes, a low sigh escaping his lips as he pinched the brig of his nose. Why was nothing working out for him in this world?

" _But_ ," Felicity said, instantly making him raise his head to look at her again, this time hopefully. "I can give you a chance to earn the spare room...  _Prove_  that you know me."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Oliver asked her, confused.

"Find my house," she told him. "Find my house without using any electronics, without looking into my personnel file at Queen Consolidated or googling it. If we really are as close as you're implying that we are in that ' _world_ ' of yours, then you should be able to find me." She stood up from the table and Diggle rose to let her pass him. She turned back to look at Oliver one last time, "I'll know if you used any tools to find me. Thank you for lunch though, I need to get back to work. It was nice meeting you Mr. Diggle."

"You too," Diggle nodded.

"Bye," she said, glancing at Oliver one last time from under her lashes before walking out of Big Belly Burger.

Oliver let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. This were definitively looking up for him. He had no doubt that he would be able to find Felicity's town house without the help of any electronic tools.

"It's strange, you know," Diggle said, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"What is?" Oliver asked.

"The three of us, interacting so normally when we actually don't know each other," his friend said.

"It is," Oliver replied, deciding to agree for the sake of agreeing. He wasn't going to mess up this little truce he had somehow managed to get Diggle to agree to.

"You know," Diggle thoughtfully said as he leaned over the table. "When I first walked in here and saw you and Felicity sitting here together, I kind of froze for a second."

"Oh? How come?" Oliver wondered, genuinely curious.

"The two of you looked so incredibly natural together, almost like you belonged there," Diggle explained. "For a second, I felt as if I really was walking towards two people I knew."

Oliver contemplated his words, not really knowing how to give Diggle a response.

"I'm sorry if I crossed some kind of boundary," Diggle said. "I know you're engaged and that I probably shouldn't say that you looked comfortable hanging out with a woman that isn't your bride-to-be."

"Don't worry about it," Oliver replied, his heart beating wildly in his chest for some reason as he thought of himself and Felicity in that way. "Strangely enough, I felt the same thing."

* * *

_[Real world...]_

Felicity tapped her foot against the hospital floor, biting her nails nervously. Next to her, Diggle sat and in front of her Thea was pacing back and forth while Roy watched her from his seat next to Felicity. Sara was leaning against the wall, watching the curious scene in front of her as they all waited for the doctor to return.

Thea had practically forced Moira to leave the hospital and get some rest, promising that she would call with any updates. Felicity herself had told Thea that she too should go home with Walter, who had come to the hospital in order to check up on them all, but Thea had insisted on staying. Quentin Lance had taken Laurel home a couple of hours prior, because his older daughter had started making a scene in the middle of the hospital with Sara. The older sister had tried putting the blame on her younger sibling and when Felicity had stepped in to defend Sara, some unkind words had been exchanged. Quentin had scolded Laurel before taking her away and the former lawyer had gone home without a fuss after her father had told her just how disappointed he was in her.

The doctors had taken Oliver in for an x-ray and a quick check up and Felicity anxiously awaited any kind of news that would tell them just how Oliver was.

The doors opened and Oliver was pushed through them on the hospital bed, past them. Felicity stood up as Oliver's doctor walked up to them.

"How is he? Is everything okay?" Felicity quickly asked, taking Thea's hand as the younger Queen sibling came to stand next to her.

"Everything seems to be in order, Ms. Smoak," the doctor informed her.

"Then why hasn't he woken up yet?" Felicity demanded to know.

"His body is trying to recover from some severe trauma," the doctor said. "Recovery takes time and you should probably give him a day or two-"

"That's what you told me  _two days ago_ ," Felicity snapped. "You told me that you stopped giving him the medication to keep him under and that we should expect him to wake up within two days time. He's been here in the hospital for  _five_  days now and he hasn't woken up yet!"

The doctor shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and eyed her warily, "You need to ask me a question so that I can answer it, Ms. Smoak."

"Will he wake up?" Felicity blurted out. "I want an honest answer. Is Oliver really going to wake up on his own or are you just making us wait and  _hurt_  for something that is hopeless?"

"Ms. Smoak," the doctor began. "As I told you, recovery takes time. Mr. Queen was lucky that he was wearing a helmet and as far as the x-rays and the various tests we just took went, it seems like his body is recovering fine. There doesn't seem to be any swelling in his brain and I can tell you that I am almost one hundred percent sure that Mr. Queen will wake up.  _When_ , is a completely different matter though, because he needs to be ready to wake up all on his own."

"But he will wake up?" Felicity whispered, tears brimming her eyes. "You aren't just telling me that because you're afraid I might sue you otherwise, right? I mean, I wouldn't sue you because I'm sure you've done everything... I might just get a little mad or upset-  _Definitively_  upset, but-"

"Ms. Smoak," the doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "Your boyfriend will wake up," he smiled.

A low chuckle was heard from behind Felicity and she almost turned around to glare at Roy, but she couldn't. Tears spilled over and she didn't even bother to correct the doctor when he had called Oliver her boyfriend. Thea let go of her hand and ran to embrace Roy as tears of relief ran down her cheeks. Felicity herself smiled and turned, walking straight into Diggle's arms, embracing him. The doctor excused himself and Felicity met Sara's eyes. The other blonde beamed at her, tears in her eyes as well.

For the first time in days, Felicity felt hope as she let go of Diggle and walked over to hug Sara as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the real world part was a lot shorter than the dream world, but honestly, there's just something about the dream world that gives me inspiration to write! ;) And besides, I find that part of the story more important! ;)
> 
> So once again, if you haven't already, check out "Hunted" and tell me what you think in a review! ;)
> 
> Comments are golden! xx


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver tries to make sense of the world that he's in and admits to himself that it all just feels like a dream.  
> Meanhile in the real world, Felicity realizes something of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really felt like being nice, especially now that my schoolbooks have arrived and I just won't be able to write as much as I've been writing these last few days! Either way, I'm updating this story again and hopefully, I'll have time to write again this weekend! ;)
> 
> There's a lot of alternate!verse Olicity in here and hopefully, you guys will like it! =)
> 
> Enjoy!

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 8**

**Word count: 3,767**

* * *

Oliver arrived at Felicity's town house exactly thirty minutes after he had left Big Belly Burger. He knew where her house was and knew that he would be able to pass her test without using any electronics.

He knocked on the door, hands in his pockets, waiting for her to open it. There was some shuffling on the other side and a loud bang before the door opened, revealing a PJ wearing Felicity on the other side.

"Hi," he said, giving her checkered pajama pants a once over, traveling up to the gray tank top she was wearing before settling on her face.

"Hey," she let out breathlessly. "I kept tabs on your phone and the computers registered to your IP-address, so I know you didn't use any of them to find me."

"I told you that I wouldn't need them," he smiled. "Can I come in?"

She eyed him suspiciously before nodding, "I guess you've earned it, even though I still have no idea  _how_ you knew where my house is. Or how you know me... But it's okay for you to stay, if your fiancee is okay with it too."

Oliver swallowed at the mention of Laurel, but he knew that Felicity would want to make sure that it was absolutely fine that he stayed at her place. Somewhere in her mind she must still be thinking that he was looking for some kind of fling, just like his father had thought.

"I called Laurel before getting here," he said. "I told her I would be staying at a friend's house because the doctor recommended it and she agreed that it was for the better. She'll tell my parents too so that they don't all think I've ran out of town." It was partially true. He  _had_  called Laurel and she  _had_  told him that she would call his parents. He had however decided to not tell Felicity about the fact that Laurel had also been severely pissed off at him for not coming home and for sneaking out earlier that morning, only to call her and tell her that he wouldn't be coming home at all.

"Come on in, Oliver," Felicity said, moving to the side so that he could step inside.

In the real world he had only been to Felicity's house twice. Once, it had been to personally deliver a bunch of flowers as a pick-me-up after she had suffered from a date-gone-terribly-wrong and once after the Undertaking, when they had drank themselves into oblivion. Well, at least Felicity had. He had been much too broody and upset to forget about everything that had happened, even if he had been drunk too. They had never spoken about that night, but he had known the moment that she had embraced him as he had allowed himself to cry about Tommy and everything that had gone wrong in his life, that Felicity Smoak was something special.

Since his return from his second exile on Lian Yu, he and Felicity had only proceeded to grow closer and he knew that she felt  _something_  for him. Waking up in this strange world where he supposedly wasn't supposed to know her had made him realize that he cared great deal about her too, and his feelings may not just be platonic anymore.

In his world, he had slept with Sara, but he knew that it was probably the biggest mistake of his life. Now all he wanted, was to go back and fix that mistake, apologize to both Sara and Felicity and maybe, just maybe, allow himself to tell Felicity that she actually did mean a lot more to him than just a friend.

Either way, her town house looked exactly the same, except for one little detail.

On top of the bookshelf that she had above her TV, was a framed picture that he had never seen before. In the picture, Felicity was sitting next to some guy, embracing him tightly. Oliver felt his throat constrict as he watched the picture and he had to clear his throat before speaking, afraid that his voice would fail him.

"Who is this?" he wondered, taking the picture in his hands.

"He's a friend from MIT," she replied. "A  _good_  friend."

"As in boyfriend?" he swallowed, feeling something strange bubble up inside of him. It was that same feeling he had had when Barry had been in Starling City. The feeling that made him want to put an arrow in the young investigator...

"As in none of your business," Felicity said, taking the picture from his hands and putting it back on the shelf. "But no, he's not my boyfriend."

A small sense of relief flooded him, but he could feel there was something else there, hidden in her words.

"Are you seeing someone?"

The question had escaped his lips without him meaning to say the words out loud and he cursed himself internally.

"I..." she started, but trailed off, shrugging. "I've been out on a couple of dates with some guy, but it's nothing serious yet."

Oliver shifted uncomfortably as he made his way over to her couch, sitting down. "Do you see it going somewhere?" he asked.

"If he wasn't traveling so much and I didn't work as much as I do," Felicity sighed. "I don't know, maybe."

That horrible feeling in his gut returned and Oliver didn't know what to say anymore. The thought of Felicity finding someone to spend the rest of her life with had never actually crossed his mind until now. Seeing her like this, where he wasn't a part of her life... It hurt far more than it should.

"Are you happy?" he quietly asked.

She walked over to the couch and sat down next to him, "I guess I am."

Oliver could only nod, afraid that his voice would somehow betray just how bad her answer had made him feel. He wanted her happy, of course, but he also somehow wanted to be the source of her happiness, just as she had been his for a while.

"Okay enough with this talk about potential boyfriends," Felicity chuckled. "This situation is awkward as it is, and besides, I thought you needed a place to stay so that you could figure some things out?"

"Yeah," Oliver said. "Would it be too much to ask of you, if I asked you to tell me everything you know about me? Maybe then I can figure out the differences between this life and the life that I remember."

"Okay, I guess I can do that," Felicity replied. "But first, some wine maybe?"

Oliver nodded, but didn't really feel like he had the energy to smile at her. Felicity stood up and walked off to her kitchen, fetching a bottle of red wine and two glasses. "It might not be the fancy kind that you're used to, but it is good," she promised, opening the bottle. "And I swear I'm not trying to come onto you or anything by getting you drunk. I just have a feeling that we'll need the wine."

"Now," Oliver started. "Why don't you start telling me the story of my life?"

Felicity smiled, but she still seemed a little unsure. "Well, I've been working at Queen Consolidated for a few years now. I graduated from MIT in '09 and came here not long after that, but I never actually crossed paths with you," she explained. "All I know about you is just office hear-say, but I would assume most of it was grounded in truth, since I used to see you on TMZ every night."

"Anyway," she continued, "you used to party a lot from what I could tell. I mean, there wasn't a week that passed that didn't involve a new scandal on TV, no offense," she added quickly, sending an apologetic look his way.

"None taken," he replied curtly.

"Well, it changed two years ago, when your friend, Tommy Merlin died," Felicity explained. "He overdosed on heroin when you guys were at some private party and the whole things sort of made you give up that whole playboy-persona. From what I know, you went into rehab, got clean and then started shadowing your dad at Queen Consolidated."

It hurt to hear about Tommy's death in this universe. He wondered whether he had witnessed it this time as well and if it hurt just as much as it did in the world he came from. Who had found Tommy in the morning? Had he been there for it all and woken up to find medics taking his best friend's body away?

Pain flared up in his head again and he winced. Images of Tommy dying in the Undertaking made their way into his brain and he knew that  _those_  were his real memories. Tommy never used drugs; he didn't die at some party. No, Tommy died a hero.

"Oliver?"

He snapped his attention back to Felicity who was looking at him warily, her hand lifted above his knee, almost as if she had been about to shake him but stopped herself just in time.

"I'm sorry," he ground out, wiping his forehead where some sweat had formed.

"Do you want me to find something for you to wear?" she asked. "I think Ray might have left something here-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted her. "Just, continue... Please."

She still seemed hesitant but finally nodded. "You started working at the company and you're next in line to take over after Mr. Queen," Felicity said. "You and your fiancee Laurel have been together for a year and a half and you popped the question six months ago on live television... You're planning a June wedding, according to  _People_   _Magazine_."

Her last 'fact' made Oliver let out a chuckle before turning serious. "It's surreal," he told her, shaking his head. "I can't believe it."

"What?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"All of this," he said, motioning around them. "Everything I've ever wanted in my world, somehow came true in this one. Besides Tommy's death, everything seems to be so  _perfect_ , but at the same time, it all just feels  _wrong_. I should be happy, shouldn't I?" he asked her, meeting her gaze.

She played with the rim of her wine glass, contemplating his words. Her eyes fell to the red liquid in the glass before looking back up at him. "Sometimes," she said slowly, "what people think they want isn't what they really want. People change, Oliver. I think you're living proof of that."

He nodded slowly, thinking about what she'd said. He had changed a lot since he was marooned on Lian Yu. The life he had wanted for himself and Laurel seemed so far back now, that it almost felt like a dream...  _This place_  felt like a dream.

"But then again, maybe it isn't my place to say anything since I don't really know you," Felicity shrugged, taking a sip from her wine.

"In the world that I remember, you know me better than anyone else," Oliver confessed, startling her. "I value your opinion, even if things between us are different here."

"I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess that you and I know each other pretty well in this 'other world' of yours?" Felicity said, and to be honest, Oliver didn't really know if she was asking him a question or not.

"We do know each other," he insisted. "I know  _you_ , Felicity."

"What do you know about me?" she said, challenge in her voice as she looked at him defiantly. He guessed there was still a part of her that found his story hard to believe. To be honest, he wouldn't have believed her either if she had walked up to him and started spinning a similar one.

"I just do, Felicity," he sighed. "I know that you're allergic to nuts, because you told me yourself. I know that you stress eat chocolate chip and mint ice-cream whenever you're upset, that you fist bump the air whenever you finish something you've been working on for a long time. I know that you dye your hair blonde," he whispered, subconsciously reaching forward and curling a strand of it around his finger. She stared at him in shock after letting out a small gasp.

"No one in Starling City knows that about me!" she whispered back, but she made no move to remove his hand from her hair.

"I do," he quietly responded, eyes locking with hers. "And I know so much more about you. I know that you're loyal and trusting, but not too trusting," he chuckled, gently brushing his finger against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut as he continued speaking softly. "I know that you don't have a relationship with your father because he left you when you were very young and I know that your mother might not have been the easiest person to live with, but that you still love her because that's just who you are... You're Felicity," he breathed, his own eyes hooded.

When had he gotten so close to her face?

"You respect people's choices, even if you don't always agree with them," he murmured, "and you always try to see the bigger picture. You're supportive and wonderful and I..." The word caught in his throat when she suddenly pulled back, staring at him with wide eyes.

He realized what he had almost told her and quickly backtracked himself, setting a safe distance between them.

"It's strange," she said after a while, her voice not similar to how it usually was. "You know all that about me, even though you shouldn't. The world you're talking about sounds like a dream."

He didn't say anything, despite wanting to almost desperately. He wanted to tell her that this world that they were in now was the dream, because it felt wrong to know that he and she weren't even friends here. Swallowing thickly, he realized that he had missed her far more than he had originally been letting on.

"It's probably better for us to go to bed," she said. "Separately," she added, eyes wide. "I need to be at work tomorrow and I really need some sleep. You can sleep in the guest room. It's the first room to the right upstairs."

She stood from the couch abruptly, taking his wine glass from his hand as she walked to the kitchen. He watched her before taking the almost empty bottle off the table and following her. When he set the bottle down on the counter, she jumped, turning to look at him.

"You're engaged," was all she said. Oliver couldn't help but detect the hint of sadness in her tone.

"I know," he said, his hands balling into fists by his sides.

"And I'm going to bed," she continued.

"As you should."

Neither of them moved though. For a long moment they only stood there staring at each other. Finally, Felicity gave him one last nod before walking away. He watched her as she left and remained standing there when she suddenly returned. Hope filled him for a second, but it quickly faded when she simply put a pair of black sweatpants and a t-shirt on the kitchen chair, giving him a pointed look.

"Good night, Oliver," she said.

"Good night, Felicity," he whispered back, watching her retreat into her bedroom again. He looked at the clothes on the chair and sighed, taking them with him as he walked upstairs to Felicity's guest room.

He changed out of the clothes he was wearing and put on the shirt, deciding to sleep in his boxers instead of putting on the sweatpants that Felicity's  _whatever_  had probably worn.

When he laid down in the bed, he couldn't help but start thinking about the words he had almost spoken earlier. Had he really been about to tell her that he loved her? He had most certainly been about to say something to her and he wasn't really sure what would have escaped his mouth if Felicity hadn't pulled away and broken the connection between them.

Three hours passed and Oliver was still laying in bed, thinking about Felicity and everything that they had talked about. It had felt so natural, so  _right_.

He stood up without even realizing what he was doing and walked out of the room. Without thinking, he headed downstairs, to Felicity's bedroom. Outside, he hesitated briefly, before slowly opening the door and looking inside.

Felicity was fast asleep, cocooned in her blanket with only her head and toes sticking out. A small smile made its way onto his lips and inside of him, his heart suddenly picked up its pace.

He wished that it would all make sense to him, but this world that he was in still confused him. Closing Felicity's door once again, he walked back upstairs and got into his bed, pulling the covers over himself. He had just needed to see her, because for some reason, Felicity was the only thing in this world that was making any sense to him.

He fell asleep, wondering why he felt that way and what tomorrow would bring them.

* * *

_[Real world...]_

Oliver had been in a coma for six days now and Felicity was still refusing to leave his side. Diggle leaned back against the wall, watching the blonde that held onto Oliver's hand for dear life.

"Felicity, you should go home," he told her for the seventh time that morning.

"I'm not leaving until he wakes up, Diggle," Felicity countered, her words never changing. "I asked Sara to bring me back some clothes since she's been sleeping in my apartment since Laurel practically exploded on her here in the hospital and the hospital staff has agreed to let me use the shower here."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Diggle asked, walking toward her. She still refused to tear her eyes off of Oliver's face, even when he put his hand on her shoulder. "Felicity, even Thea and Roy went home. I've been at home too, for God's sake. You can't really think anyone will blame you for taking care of yourself."

"It's not that, Diggle," Felicity answered, looking up at him finally. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were dark bags under them.

"Then what is it?" he challenged.

Felicity shook her head, "What if he wakes up and no one is here? I don't want him to wake up alone."

"There are doctors monitoring him constantly, Felicity," Diggle argued. "We can talk to them and tell them to call us in case anything changes-"

"I want to be here for him, John!" Felicity said loudly. "I  _need_  to be here for him." Her lower lip was trembling and her eyes were staring to fill with tears.

"Felicity, the doctors have already told us that Oliver  _will_  wake up," Diggle reminded her. "You need to accept that he will wake up whenever he's ready to do so."

"But why is it taking so long for him to get ready?" Felicity asked, her voice weak and shaky. "What if he never comes back to us, Diggle?" A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and Diggle quickly wiped it away for her.

"He just needs a little more time, Felicity," he insisted. "I bet he's trying to figure out things in that mind of his."

"Do you think he's dreaming?" Felicity mumbled, reaching over to put her small hand against Oliver's rough cheek. The bruising had gone down severely over these last few days and the doctors had told her that his broken ribs were healing properly and that his leg too seemed to be recovering fine.

"Maybe," Diggle said, just as quietly. Silence fell between them and Diggle watched as Felicity continued to stroke Oliver's cheek, deep in thought.

"I can't leave his side, Dig," Felicity spoke after a while. "I can't leave him."

"Felicity," Diggle sighed again, but Felicity shook her head.

"No, you don't understand," she said, her breaths a little uneven. "I just realized something."

"What is that?" Diggle wondered.

"Whenever I visited Barry in the hospital, I used to read a book to him," she explained. "That was all I did. I read and I talked, about the silliest things ever, but it felt good. I could still talk to him, like a friend."

Diggle was confused, "And?"

"With Oliver, I don't talk," she revealed. "I just sit here and stare at him and I don't know what to say to him. I don't even know what book he likes, but I haven't actually stopped to think about it because I wouldn't be able to read it to him anyway. I just can't leave his side, even if I know that it might be better for me to talk to him."

"Why don't you then?" Diggle pressed. "Are you trying to tell me that Oliver isn't your friend? Because let me tell you, that isn't going to work."

"No, I'm trying to tell you that I know why I just can't leave him, even if he's made me want to do it so many times," she said, her fingers running through Oliver's short hair slowly. "I'm in love with him, John."

Diggle wasn't surprised by Felicity's revelation. To be honest, he wondered why it had taken such a bright woman like herself to realize the truth that had been in her heart all along. He had talked to Felicity about Oliver when Oliver had gone back to Lian Yu a second time and he knew that Oliver and their blonde friend had left some things unspoken after the Undertaking. There were feeling there, but they hadn't been ready to deal with them just yet. When Barry came around, Diggle had internally hoped that Oliver would step up and just tell Felicity that he didn't want her and Barry to be anything other than friends, but his friend hadn't said anything. Instead, he had acted like a complete douche, but of course, he had apologized later, making amends with Felicity.

No, Diggle wasn't surprised  _at all_.

So then why had a loud gasp been heard in the quiet hospital room after Felicity's revelation?

Diggle and Felicity turned around at the same time, facing the person who was standing in the door. A bouquet of red roses had fallen to the floor and in the doorway stood none other than Thea Queen, mouth hung open as she stared at Felicity, who was still gripping onto Oliver's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo? Felicity has finally admitted that she loves Oliver! :D And Oliver is feeling things for Felicity and was close to "slipping up"! I think you can tell that this story is slowly coming to it's conclusion... 2 chapters left! ;)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated and they give me motivation to write! =) Oh, and would you guys like to have the second chapter of "Hunted" tomorrow? Tell me! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver gets an ultimatum after a wonderful breakfast.  
> Meanwhile, Thea confronts Felicity about her confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! As promised, here is the latest chapter of Alternate! After this one, there is just one last chapter and then this story is FINISHED! Wow, I can hardly believe it... But that means that I'll be able to focus fully on Hunted and I sort of might have a small idea for another short fic... ^^ Yeah, typical me!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one! ;)

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 9**

**Word count: 4,397**

* * *

Normally, when people don't want to open their eyes in the morning, it's because they've been having such a great dream that they don't want to let it go. They are fully aware of the fact that they have obligations, such as school, work, family and so on, that they need to go back to, but for one brief moment, they allow themselves to stay in their dream world, just a little bit longer.

This morning, when Oliver felt himself come out of his sleep, he didn't dare open his eyes for another reason completely. What if he opened his eyes and he was still in the world he had been in yesterday? What if he could never go back to the world that  _he_  remembered?

Also, he had dreamed about Felicity.

Or at least, he thought he had heard her voice, telling him that she loved him and that she had begged him to come home to her. He couldn't exactly remember anything other than her voice, so he would probably never know if it had been real or not. The only thing he knew, was that when he finally woke up, he had been smiling.

Finally, he opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling above him. He was still there; in Felicity's guest bedroom. Recognizing the lavender wallpaper, he immediately knew that he was still trapped in this strange alternate world, where nothing was as it was supposed to be.

Last night flooded back to him slowly and he recalled the wine he had shared with Felicity. It had all reminded him about that night after the Undertaking when he had shown up at her door step. He knew deep down that that had been the night they had truly become friends. Even if he had later picked up his things and left both her and Diggle behind, he had known that she would always be close to his heart.

When he had gone to bed the previous night, he had thought a lot about Felicity, both the woman she was in this world and the one he knew back home. Everything in this world that he had been thrown into was confusing and chaotic, but the only person that made sense to him, was the blonde that was probably still asleep downstairs.

Diggle too, of course, and Thea wasn't so bad...but  _Felicity_ ; she always seemed to understand and accept him, no matter how strange the things he said might be.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, he found himself frowning when he thought he saw the numbers all jumbled up. He shook his head a little, but the motion gave him a head ache and he decided that it was better just to get out of bed and head downstairs.

So, he got up, made the bed as well as he could and then walked toward the door, but not before shooting a glare toward the abandoned sweatpants that were still neatly folded on the chair in the corner. He walked downstairs, surprised to smell the aroma of homemade pancakes as he walked toward the kitchen.

Felicity looked up at his arrival, but her 'good morning' seemed to die in her throat as she took him in. Oliver looked down at himself and remembered that he was only wearing the t-shirt she had given him last night and his black boxer shorts. He wasn't exactly shy, but he would feel a little bad if he made Felicity feel uncomfortable.

"Good morning," he said, trying to act dismissive of the awkwardness of the situation as he took in her appearance. Okay, so she wasn't wearing much clothing either.

She was wearing a pair of pink sleeping shorts that were dotted with hearts and a white tank top. He could just make out the outlines of a hot pink sports bra underneath and her still wet hair, probably from her early morning shower, was hanging over her shoulder. It seemed like she had gotten rid of those checkered flannel pajamas she had worn last night.

That didn't change the fact that she truly was breathtaking.

"Good morning," she said back, turning her attention back to the pancake in her frying pan. "I figured you'd be out longer, so I'd have time to change into something a little more appropriate."

He smiled at her comment as he walked over to her, sitting down on one of the chairs, "Don't do that on my account."

"Well," she said, glancing over at him from under her lashes, "I can tell that you've made yourself at home already."

"I'm sorry if it bothers you," he apologized, but she just shook her head.

"As long as you keep your shirt on, I think we're fine," she said, clearly fighting a grin that was making its way up onto her face.

"You're making pancakes," he pointed out, deciding that it was better not to ask her if that rule applied to her as well.

"Yeah, I thought that since you might have had the chance to clear your head a little last night, you would have a lot of things on your plate today and what better way to start the day than with pancakes?" she rambled, turning around to take out two plates from a cabinet.

Oliver watched as she stood on her tippy-toes trying to reach the plates, and his eyes zeroed in on where her tank top rode up just slightly, revealing a little of her toned stomach. Without thinking, he stood up and walked over to her. Standing behind her, he put his hand on her shoulder before reaching up and taking the plates down without effort. His hand remained on her shoulder as he put the plates on the counter, looking down at her. Her breath seemed to have quickened up a bit and a small part of him prided himself for having that effect on her. Then he remembered the moment they had shared in the kitchen the previous night, and just how sad she had sounded when she had reminded him that he was engaged.

That thought was the only thing that made him let go of her shoulder and take a step back. Felicity remained where she stood for another ten seconds before turning around, smiling as if nothing had just happened between them.

"Thank you," she said, her voice cheerful as she turned her attention back to the pancakes, humming lightly. Oliver returned to his chair, watching her as she prepared the table for them and finished making her pancakes.

When she was finally done setting the table, she placed the finished pancakes in front of him and sat down on the chair opposite him. "I would have made you coffee, but I figured you could do something by yourself," she told him, pointing at the coffeemaker on the counter. "What  _now_?" she asked him when he started laughing.

"Nothing, nothing," he chuckled. "It's just that you were never a fan of making me coffee in the world that I remember either." He stood up and walked over to the coffeemaker, grabbing a cup out of the cabinet above it.

"Why would I make you coffee there?" she wondered, frowning at him as he poured the coffee into the mug.

"I kind of promoted you to being my Executive Assistant," he sheepishly grinned. "And you didn't like the idea of being my girl Wednesday."

"It's  _Friday_ ," she corrected, once again making him smile to himself as he joined her at the table again, "and  _why_  would I ever agree to being your assistant?"

"It was necessary at the time," he told her. "But I promise you that you got a raise as well and you acted more as a CEO than I ever did."

She merely hummed, taking a sip from her coffee before she began digging into her pancakes. "Anyway, I need to get to work soon, but you can take your time if you want," she said, changing the subject.

"Thank you for letting me stay here last night," he said. "I know it couldn't have been easy, since I'm basically a stranger to you."

"I think it was that face of yours that convinced me," she smiled softly at him.

"Am I that handsome?" he joked, managing to get a laugh out of her.

"No," she giggled, shaking her head. "There was just something in your eyes..." she trailed off, her tone turning serious. "There was something there that just made me believe you. I just knew that you would never..."

"Never what?" he pressed, leaning forward in his chair, moving closer to her. One of her hands was resting on the table and he couldn't resist the urge to cover it with his own.

"I knew that you would never hurt me," she finished, her voice a mere whisper as she met his gaze again. Her eyes then fell to their hands on top of the table and the intimacy of the moment, seemed to awaken something inside of her. She pulled her hand away from him and shook her head, "And you can't keep doing things like that, Oliver. You're engaged to Laurel."

"I still don't remember ever proposing to her, Felicity," Oliver sighed, rubbing his temples. He was getting a head ache again. "Can it really count as an engagement if I don't remember it?"

"People get married in Vegas when they're drunk and it still  _counts_ ," Felicity objected. "Just because your mind has filled with memories of another land or whatever, it doesn't mean that your fiancee isn't real."

"Felicity, please," Oliver begged. "Don't make me think about it this early in the morning. Laurel has already tried to pressure me into telling her everything and I honestly just can't deal with it right now."

"I'm sorry," Felicity said, looking a little calmer. "I just don't want you to forget that there is someone at home waiting for you."

He watched her, wondering if she knew just how amazing she was. "What if Laurel isn't the person I want to have waiting for me? What if she isn't my home?"

Felicity contemplated his words while taking another sip from her coffee. As she put the cup down, she looked him in the eyes and told him, "That is something you'll have to figure out on your own...  _After_ you eat your breakfast." She gave him another pointed look, glancing down at his plate that he still hadn't touched. "I need to get ready for work. As I said, you can just take your time and then lock up after yourself. You can just drop the key in the mail box, I have a spare one."

She stood up and got ready to leave for her room, when he stopped her by calling her name. She turned back around and faced him, but all he could do was offer her a small smile. "Thank you," he repeated.

"You're welcome," she smiled back before walking off.

Fifteen minutes later she left the house, but not before telling him good bye and reminding him to just think things through and not to get stressed out because everything would fall into place sooner or later. He took her words to heart as he got up and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. The last thing he could do for her was clean up after breakfast, right?

He was in the middle of wiping the table when the doorbell rang. Could Felicity have forgotten something on her way out?

There was a knock, then another and then one more.

"I'm coming," he called out, washing his hands quickly before heading out in the hallway. He opened the door without thinking and then froze in place as he faced the person on the other side.

"Laurel," he breathed out. "What are you doing here?"

Laurel stared at him and then looked down, clearly taking in his lack of clothing. He could only imagine how he looked in her eyes. "Can I come in?" she asked him, her voice even but at the same time hinting at a little annoyance.

"Uhm... Yeah, sure," he replied, stepping aside so that she could walk in. He watched her take in the state of the kitchen before leading her to the living room, where she stopped in front of him, clutching her bag in front of her.

"I think we need to talk," she told him.

He watched her warily before nodding, "Let me just get dressed-"

"Don't bother, Oliver," Laurel said, anger seeping into her voice this time. She walked around the living room, taking in the pictures of Felicity and her friends and family. "So you stayed at a  _friend's_  house?"

"Yes," Oliver replied.

"It's funny though," Laurel chuckled, but there was no humor in her tone, "because I've met all of your friends and I've never heard you mention anyone named Felicity Smoak."

"How did you find me, Laurel?" Oliver wondered, deciding not to make a comment at her snarky remarks.

"Does it really matter, Ollie?" she snapped. "You've never mentioned this Felicity girl and suddenly she's the only person that you're opening up to and you're sleeping over at her place instead of coming  _home_ , to  _me!_ " Laurel yelled at him.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he yelled back, frustration setting into him. He had been feeling so good this morning and he had been preparing himself to sit down and make a decision on what he would say to Laurel when he went to her, and now, Laurel had managed to destroy that good feeling completely.

His supposed fiancee was breathing heavily as she continued to glare at him. Oliver observed her as she slowly came a little closer to him. His own hands were balled into fists and every fiber of his being was telling him to just get out of there.

"Are you cheating on me with her?" Laurel asked him.

He instantly shook his head, "No."

For a second he thought it might all be over, because it looked almost like relief had flooded Laurel. Then, her face contorted into something angrier again. "I don't believe you," she told him.

"Laurel," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I haven't cheated on you, but you have to understand that I don't  _remember_ this world where you and I are engaged. I don't understand anything that has happened and nothing is making any sense to me anymore."

He was close to telling her that Felicity was the only one that was making it feel a lot easier on him and whenever he was around the blonde, things started clearing up a lot more.

"Well then," Laurel said. "In that case, I'm giving you a choice. You either come back home tonight, or, I'll be calling off our engagement."

Her tone was final, but how was he supposed to respond to that? Should he tell her to just call it off because the thought of not being engaged to her sent some sort of relief through his own body? Should he tell her that he honestly wasn't that bothered with her calling it quits between them?

Instead of telling her those things, he watched as Laurel walked up to one of Felicity's pictures and took it in her hand, eying the blonde with distaste. Oliver knew which photo it was; Felicity's graduation picture from MIT. Laurel put it back on the shelf with a little more force than necessary before turning back to him again. "It's clear that you need to get your head straight, Ollie," she told him. "And you can't keep lying to me anymore. Decide what you want and then come home but you need to get your head together and decide whether it's worth losing what we have for some ridiculous blonde fling."

He wanted to yell at her not to undermine his feelings for Felicity, because there was  _no way_  that it was only a fling. "I need some time," he told her instead. "And you should go."

Laurel's mouth hung open as she stared at him. "Are you seriously throwing me out, Ollie?"

"Last time I checked, this was what you wanted," he retorted. "You wanted me to think things through and I am going to do it,  _when you leave_."

"I can't believe that you actually  _have_  to think about this," she glared at him. "And you're basically throwing me out." She sounded appalled, but Oliver couldn't even look at her anymore.

"Get out," he bit out, his voice stern. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Laurel nod slowly before walking out in the hallway. A second later, the door was slammed shut and he internally cringed at the sound of it.

What should he do? He hated hurting Laurel, but wouldn't it just hurt her more if she found out that his heart just wasn't in it anymore? Besides, could he really live a life that he held no memories from?

He sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands, groaning loudly. There, he sat for a good half hour, thinking about what he should do next. In the end, he got up and went to the guest room again where he got dressed, but not before taking a quick shower. He took out his phone that was still in his pocket. The numbers were giving him a head ache, but he pressed the buttons to the phone number that he had memorized.

" _Hello? Ollie?_ " Thea asked once she picked up.

"Hi, Thea," he sighed loudly.

" _What's going on? Where are you? Mom and dad told me that you were staying at a friend's house-_ "

"Thea," he interrupted her. "Would you mind meeting me over at Big Belly Burger? I think I need to talk to someone about what's going on."

" _Uh, yeah, sure,_ " she replied. " _I can be there in half an hour._ "

"Good," he nodded. "I'll take a cab and meet you there."

" _Is everything okay, Ollie? You sound...different._ "

"I'm fine," he said thoughtfully.

" _I meant that you sound a good different. You sound rested,_ " Thea pointed out.

"I am," he admitted. "But I'll see you in half an hour then?"

" _Yeah, yeah, I'll meet you there,_ " Thea said, hanging up the phone.

Oliver closed his eyes for yet another brief moment, thinking about everything that had transpired that morning. Thea had told him that she would help him figure things out and what better time to pick up her offer than now?

As he started for the door, he only hoped that Thea would manage to help him.

* * *

_[Real world...]_

When Thea had decided to skip out on breakfast that morning, so that she could go visit her older brother at the hospital, she never would have expected to overhear such a confession. She had bought a bouquet of red roses in the gift shop on the first floor and then proceeded to wish the nurses a good morning. She was happy because Oliver's doctor had told them the day before that Oliver would indeed wake up.

Thea had told her mother to stay at home and rest because everything about Oliver's accident and coma had started messing with her and she needed to focus now that she was running for mayor. Besides, Thea wouldn't want Moira to start another argument with Felicity.

The nurses told Thea that Ms. Smoak had once again slept in Oliver's room and that Mr. Diggle had joined her a little earlier. But when she had approached Oliver's room, she couldn't help but stop as she heard Felicity speak.

" _No, I'm trying to tell you that I know why I just can't leave him, even if he's made me want to do it so many times,_ " she said. Thea opened the door a little and saw how Felicity was slowly running her fingers through Oliver's hair. " _I'm in love with him, John._ "

Thea opened the door fully as her jaw went slack and the roses fell from her hands. A noise escaped her, something between a gasp and a half squeal, that alerted both Felicity and Diggle to her presence. They turned around and stared at her and all she could do was stare back at them for another moment.

"You  _love_  him?" Thea asked after a while. "You love my brother?"

Felicity's cheeks were flushed and she kept staring at her, mouth open and eyes wide. Thea turned toward Diggle and grinned, "You  _knew_ , didn't you?" She pointed an accusing finger at him and shook her head. "You knew before  _she_  did, didn't you? That's why you told me I should talk to Felicity myself!"

Neither of them spoke and Thea shook her head, letting out a small laugh. "Oh  _God_ , of course you love him," she said. "How can I have been so stupid?"

"Thea," Felicity stood from her chair and took a tentative step toward her. "I care deeply about your brother-"

"Oh  _please_ ," Thea scoffed. "You love him and the cat's out of the bag so you might as well just own up to it."

"I know this is unexpected, and probably highly inappropriate-" Felicity began again, but her words froze in her throat when Thea stepped up to her and put her arms around her. It seemed to take Felicity a moment to realize that Thea was hugging her, but eventually, she wrapped her arms around the younger Queen too.

"Is it totally weird if I sat that I'm glad you love Ollie?" Thea wondered, pulling away from Felicity who had a dumbfounded look on her face.

The blonde turned around and gaped at Diggle, "Can you believe this is happening?"

Diggle only chuckled and shrugged, not giving her any real answer. When her friend didn't reply, Felicity turned back to Thea again and nodded slowly, "I do love Oliver. I didn't even realize it until now."

"This is wonderful," Thea said, clapping her hands together. "Now all we need is for Sleeping Beauty over there to wake up so that you can tell him."

"I can't tell him, Thea," Felicity mumbled.

"What?" Okay, now Thea was confused once again. " _Why?_ "

Felicity only sighed and shook her head. "I love him, okay? And I know that when something like this happens, it usually makes sense that you tell the person you love that you love them, and not in that platonic friendship kind of way that the person always thought, but in a rather complicated and hot-"

"Felicity, you're getting off topic," Diggle hummed behind her.

"Yeah, right, sorry," Felicity swallowed, nodding appreciatively at Diggle before turning back to Thea, who was still just as confused as before. "The point is that yes, I love Oliver,  _but_  he can never be with me."

"And why is that?" Thea frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not that I know you that much, but from what I've seen so far you're way better for him than Laurel or Sara and I really think that you could make him happy."

"It's complicated, Thea," Felicity sighed, running a hand through her already disheveled hair. "There are a lot of reasons and I know that you don't understand but-"

"Then  _make_ me understand," Thea exclaimed. "Help me understand it, Felicity!"

Diggle took a step forward, coming to stand next to Felicity. "It's not our place to say anything, Thea. It's Oliver's story to tell and we can't betray his trust and we're sorry for that," he said, sounding truthful.

"So it all comes down to Oliver's secrets?" Thea concluded. "He's been keeping something from us since the day he came back from the island and whatever that is, it's clearly coming between him and his happiness."

"Thea, please," Felicity whispered. "If I could, I would tell you, I swear. But, it's Oliver's choice, not mine."

Thea groaned and rolled her eyes at them. "Fine, I guess I'll just have to accept that because the two of you are just to damn loyal to my brother," she said, narrowing her eyes at them. "I suppose I won't be able to bribe the information out of you?"

Her joke made both Diggle and Felicity chuckle as they shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, but no," Felicity smiled at her. The blonde still had tears in her eyes as she looked back at Oliver's sleeping form and Thea knew that things between them couldn't end that way.

"Felicity," she said calmly, making the woman face her again. "I want you to swear to me that you'll tell Oliver that you love him when he wakes up."

"Thea..." Felicity bit her lip, trailing off as she glanced back at Oliver again.

" _Promise_ , Felicity," Thea insisted. "Whatever happens, whatever he says, just promise that you'll tell him, okay? He has a right to know and you owe it to both of you to see if there is a chance that you can somehow make it work."

Thea watched her as she contemplated it. She could almost see the wheels turning inside of Felicity's head and she really hoped that she had gotten through to her.

Finally, Felicity nodded, "Okay. I'll tell him."

"Promise," Thea said.

"I promise."

Thea looked over at Diggle who was shaking his head with a smile on his face. "Mr. Diggle, do you have anything to add?" she wondered.

"I was just thinking about how I should have enlisted you from the beginning," he replied. "I've been trying to get these two to just admit that they care about each other as more than friends for months now."

Felicity was gaping at him and Thea couldn't help but laugh.

"I like you, John," she told him. "But I guess there's just something about my voice of reason."

Her comment earned her a smile from Diggle and a light blush and a snort from Felicity. Then, the three of them proceeded to sit around Oliver's bed together, while she told them a story or two from when Oliver was younger.

"If he rejects you, I give you the permission to post these stories on the Internet," Thea told Felicity, who blushed again.

Something inside of her though, told her that her brother would never push away someone like Felicity, who had stayed by his side, through everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a comment! ;) Also, don't forget: JUST ONE CHAPTER LEFT! :D xx


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver finally makes a decision in his dream world and realizes what it means to move on and let go of some of his demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is guys! The final chapter of Alternate! =) I can't even begin telling you how extremely thankful I am for the lovely comments and the wonderful support I've gotten on this story! Really, I wouldn't have been able to do this without you guys! =)
> 
> Now, please enjoy the chapter!

" **Alternate"**

**Chapter 10**

**Word count: 6,111**

* * *

When Oliver got out of the cab in the parking-lot of Big Belly Burger, he couldn't help but wonder how his conversation with Thea would go. He already dreaded telling her that he had spent the night at Felicity's place, not that he was embarrassed or anything, but he didn't want his younger sister to judge him and think that he was cheating on Laurel, just like their father and Laurel herself had thought.

The fact that his father had immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion with him made him wonder just how reformed the Oliver they knew really was. If both Laurel and Robert accused him of cheating, did that mean that their Oliver used to cheat on Laurel too, even after Tommy's death? Felicity had made it sound like he had become a serious businessman and that he was highly respected in the company, but then again, she too had assumed that he was trying to come onto her when he had first gone to her office.

He didn't know what to make of it and as he stepped through the doors of Big Belly Burger, he decided that he wouldn't think about it anymore, because after all, he was trying to find his way home to his world, where none of what happened here would matter.

Thea was sitting at a table in the back; one that he wasn't used sitting at. It felt sort of wrong to sit there, in a way, but then again, Thea was already sitting and he didn't want to look any crazier to her by requesting that they change tables.

His sister stood up when she spotted him, immediately embracing him as he walked up to the table she was sitting at.

"Hi," she greeted. "Is everything okay? You sounded upset over the phone."

Oliver held her a little tighter, allowing himself to sigh deeply into her shoulder before speaking truthfully, "I don't know what to do, Thea."

"What do you mean?" Thea wondered as she pulled away from him. Her hands were still on his shoulders as she looked into his eyes intently.

"I found Felicity," he explained.

"Your friend from your world?" Thea asked and he nodded his head in confirmation. "Why don't we sit down and order a coffee?" she suggested, pulling out her chair again.

He followed her lead and sat down, burying his face in his hands as Thea ordered them two coffees when the waitress came around.

"So you found your Felicity," Thea repeated slowly. "What happened? Wasn't she like you remember her?"

"She was  _exactly_  the way I remember her," Oliver said. "She's even better actually."

"What does that mean then?" Thea questioned. "What happened, Ollie?"

"I slept at Felicity's place last night," he confessed. "Nothing happened though. I slept in her guest bedroom because my doctor suggested that I needed to clear my head. Felicity was just being supportive..."

"You mean she believed your story about knowing her?" Thea gaped. "Wow, she must certainly be special."

"Felicity is wonderful," Oliver sighed. "She's kind, loyal and she understands me better than anyone else. It took some convincing and to be honest, I'm not sure she's entirely sure that I'm not insane, but she let me stay at her place. She's a good friend."

"None if this sounds bad, so why the sad face?" his sister asked, taking a sip from her coffee that had just arrived.

Oliver fiddled with the lid on his own cup, "Laurel came to Felicity's house this morning."

"Oh," Thea's eyes widened, "this is getting better than that Russian soap opera Raisa used to watch."

"This isn't funny, Thea," Oliver frowned.

"Sorry," Thea grinned. "What happened next? Did she go ballistic?"

"I can't believe this is actually amusing to you," Oliver shook his head before continuing, "She asked me if I was cheating on her and then gave me an ultimatum. I either go home to her tonight or she's calling off our engagement."

Thea quietly sipped on her coffee, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What are you planning to do then?"

"I don't know," Oliver sighed. "On one side, I feel sort of obligated to stay with Laurel... But at the same time, this isn't my world. This isn't the life that I remember. I only remember-"

"Felicity," Thea finished for him.

"Yeah," he nodded, his thoughts trailing to his blonde friend and how devastated she had looked the night before when she had reminded him that he was engaged. Their little breakfast they had shared today had made him feel so incredibly happy that he hadn't wanted the moment to end.

"How do you feel about her?" Thea asked him, looking at him curiously.

"I feel like she's the only thing in this world that makes sense to me," he replied. "She's still the person I knew back home and she doesn't put any pressure on me. She told me that I needed to make a decision on my own and all she's done since I walked into her office, is be supportive of me. I care about her."

His own admission startled him. He had known for a fact that he cared about Felicity, but he had never really expected himself to blurt that out to Thea.

"If you ask me, I think it's pretty obvious," Thea said, finishing her coffee.

"What is?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

Thea smiled, clearly amused by his confusion as she leaned a little closer over the table. "That you're not in love with Laurel anymore," she replied, making it sound like it was indeed the most obvious thing in the world.

Oliver thought about it  _very_  briefly and then he realized that Thea was in all likelihood the smartest out of the two of them. How could he have been so stupidly blind to everything that was Felicity Smoak?

Last night, when he had almost slipped up, it had felt so natural to say the words to her that he hadn't been able to say to anyone other than Thea since his return from Lian Yu. When he had laid awake, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about his problems until he had gotten up and gone to Felicity's room to check on her. The moment he had laid eyes on her in this world, he had felt instant relief, blabbering on as if she knew him too just out of sheer happiness.

He recalled Russia and Isabel Rochev's hurtful words and the speech he had later held, when he told her that it was better for him not to get involved with someone he could really care about.

_Could_  really care about.

He  _already_  cared about her.

In fact, he loved her.

"I love her," he said slowly, testing the words out. He looked over at Thea that was grinning at him like the Cheshire cat. "I love Felicity."

"Clearly, you do," Thea agreed, still smiling.

He felt a sudden energy course through him, like an adrenaline rush. Now he knew what he needed to do. "Should I tell her the truth?" he asked Thea. "Should I tell her that I love her?"

"Hmm..." Thea hummed thoughtfully. "Don't you think that might freak to poor girl out, considering that you two aren't actually supposed to know each other?"

"But I  _know_  her," Oliver insisted, "and I'm  _in love_  with her."

Thea watched him for another moment before nodding again. "In that case, I suggest you talk to Laurel first, and  _then_  go after your girl," she said.

"You're not mad at me?" Oliver asked. "You're not mad that I'm leaving Laurel behind?"

"Oliver," Thea said, "I think that you should be with a person that really cares about you. I'm not saying that Laurel doesn't, but I'm just saying that there's too much history there. She'll always doubt you, as she proved today, but from what I've heard about Felicity, she believes in you, even under the craziest of circumstances."

Oliver rose from his seat, "I know what I have to do."

-§-

"Are you going to get out of the cab because the meter is still running?" the cab driver asked him.

He was startled at first but eventually nodded, "Yeah, sorry." He took out some money out of his wallet and payed the man, getting out of the cab.

Oliver stood in front of Laurel's apartment building, wondering exactly how he was going to approach the situation. When he had left Big Belly Burger, he had figured he would come up with something on the ride over, but his mind seemed to have frozen on just telling Felicity how he felt about her and wasn't allowing him to come up with a nice way to break the news to Laurel.

A nice way to tell her that he was breaking off their engagement because he was in love with someone else and that that someone, was the girl that he had only met two days ago in this world.

It shocked him that they didn't have cards for that at the store.

Deciding that he just needed to man up, he entered the building, opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator so that he would have some more time to think. Yet, when he reached Laurel's door at the end of the hallway, he remained standing there once again, still hesitant.

Finally, he inhaled deeply before knocking.

The door opened almost instantly, revealing Laurel with a blank expression on her face. For a moment, relief seemed to come over her.

"Ollie," she breathed out, a small smile appearing on her face as she ran into his arms, embracing him. "I knew you'd come."

"Laurel," he said, slowly taking a hold of her wrists, prying her away from his body. "We need to talk."

The seriousness in his tone made her smile drop and she took two big steps back, staring openly at him.

"Can I come in?" he asked and she recovered by nodding and moving away from the doorway entirely. She walked to the living room and he followed her, watching her from behind as she refused to look at him. The hope he had seen before had completely disappeared from her face and he was starting to feel bad about it all. He knew though, that he couldn't stay in this relationship out of guilt, because neither of them would be happy in the end. Laurel needed to move on, just like he had, without even realizing it until now.

"Maybe you should sit?" he suggested.

Laurel crossed her arms across her chest and sat down on the couch, looking up at him with something that could only be described as a death-glare.

"What is this about, Ollie?" she asked. "Have you made your decision?"

"I have," he confirmed. "Laurel, I'm sorry..." he trailed off and Laurel shook her head at him in disbelief. "I just can't be with you anymore."

"Why?" she demanded to know. "Why have you suddenly decided to throw away almost two years of being fully committed to each other?"

"Is that what you call this morning?" Oliver countered. "'Being fully committed'? I don't think that involves accusing me of cheating on you the instant things get a little rough."

"Then  _why?_ " Laurel yelled, standing up from the couch. "If you didn't cheat on me this time, then  _why_  in the world would you decide to break up with me? We're  _engaged_ , Oliver!"

"Don't you think I know that?" he shouted back. "I'm sorry, Laurel but I can't keep living this life anymore!" He was breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down.

"Don't throw it all away then," Laurel said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Don't throw it away just because you're  _scared_."

"This isn't about me being scared, Laurel," he sighed deeply. "I love you," he said, "but I'm no longer  _in love with you_. I haven't been, for a while now."

He observed Laurel's face as his words sunk in. He could see the hurt in her eyes, but there was nothing he could do anymore. His romantic feelings for Laurel had faded long ago, but he had just been too stubborn to realize it until now. When he thought about all the heartache his incapacity to face reality had caused Tommy, he felt horrible. He knew he could have spared his best friend a lot of grief and he didn't even want to think about the possibility that Tommy could have been alive if he and Laurel hadn't broken up because of Oliver.

"So what?" Laurel asked, tears streaming down her face. "Now you're in love with someone else then?" He didn't reply, so she continued, "Is it that Smoak girl? Is she the one you're leaving me for?"

"I'm sorry, Laurel, I really am," Oliver tried, but Laurel just shook her head at him.

"You don't even know her, Ollie! You met her, like, two days ago and now you're in love with her?" she yelled.

"I'm sorry," he said again, not knowing what else he could say to give her some kind of comfort.

"Get out," Laurel finally sobbed, pointing at the door. "Get out, get out!" She took off her engagement ring and threw it at him. It bounced off his jacket and fell to the floor. He picked it up without thinking and pocketed it before he walked to the door, shutting out Laurel's cries.

He turned around one last time, "I'm sorry."

His apologies didn't matter anymore though, because what was done was done. He felt bad for Laurel as he exited the apartment building, but he also couldn't help but feel a little relieved. One thing on his to-do-list was over and now all he needed to do, was catch a cab and get to Queen Consolidated.

-§-

Oliver arrived at Queen Consolidated no more than twenty minutes later. He was rushing inside, ignoring the receptionists greeting as he passed her and headed straight for the elevators, pushing the button frantically. He needed to get to Felicity so that he could tell her how he really felt about her.

_Ding!_

At the sound of the elevator's arrival, Oliver watched as the doors opened, but he froze in his place as none other than his father stood in front of him.

"Oliver," he said, his tone stern and disapproving. "I just got a call from a  _very_  distraught Laurel, telling me that you broke off your engagement... Please tell me that it isn't true."

"It is true though," Oliver said as he stepped into the elevator.

Robert turned to face him, a shocked expression on his face, "What craziness is this? You and Laurel have been happy! Why would you break off your engagement?"

"I'm not in love with Laurel," Oliver replied coldly. "I'm in love with someone else."

"Are you  _insane?_ " Robert asked. "Don't you know what a scandal this will become? I can already see the headlines!" Robert reached for the emergency stop and pressed the button, stopping the elevator. "' _Oliver Queen breaks off engagement for a Summer fling!_ ' That is what they'll say about you!"

"I don't care!" Oliver yelled at his father, glad that they were alone. "I. Don't. Care."

"You should!"

"But I don't," Oliver said, a little calmer now as he shook his head. "I have tried, so hard to be the son you always wanted. I've done everything you asked for and I gave up the life that  _I_ wanted,  _for you_ ," he breathed, looking his father in the eyes. "For  _once_ , I am going to do what I want, and not what is expected of me."

"Are you talking about that crazy world of yours again?" Robert wondered. "Wake up, boy! That is just a nightmare you had that messed with your head!" he said, shaking Oliver's shoulders.

Slowly, Oliver pried his father's hands away from him and shook his head. "That wasn't the nightmare," he told him. " _This world_  is the nightmare."

"You are going to ruin us with this," Robert said. "And all for a little blonde IT-nerd."

"Felicity is far more than that," Oliver said calmly, reaching forward as he pressed the button to start the elevator again. "And I don't care what either of you think anymore. I want to be happy and I believe that I can be so with Felicity."

"You're assuming that she feels the same way about you," Robert sneered. "You met her two days ago. Are you really expecting her to just throw herself into your arms? I'll have her fired, I'll  _ruin_  her."

Oliver only watched his father as he stepped out of the elevator, "You wouldn't dare. If you do, I'll make sure that every corporate secret that you've tried to cover up comes out. Every little scandal that  _you_  quieted down, will be in tomorrow's newspaper the second you fire her."

"Oliver," his father practically growled. "I'll disown you!"

"I still don't care," Oliver shrugged, turning his back on his father as the elevator doors closed. He inhaled deeply before once again starting his walk toward Felicity's office.

Some of the employees were sending him curious looks as he walked past them with determination. A couple of them where whispering, pointing toward the elevator, no doubt having overheard his argument with his father. Things were going to become rocky when the news came out, just as his father predicted, but all he could think about was Felicity and what she would say when he finally told her how he felt.

He reached her office and knocked as he stepped inside. Felicity looked up at him, her glasses having fallen down a little on her nose.

"Oliver," she said, quickly scrambling together a couple of papers on the desk. "What are you doing here? I told you that you could leave the key in the mail box."

He turned around and closed the door to her office and then faced her again. She was watching him in confusion as he moved toward her tentatively, "I needed to see you."

"Oh?" she replied. "Well, now you've seen me-"

"I broke things off with Laurel," he interrupted, watching as her eyes widened.

"Oh my God... I'm sorry," she solemnly said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he pointed out as he came to stand next to her desk.

"But  _why_?" she wondered softly, her voice a whisper as she searched his eyes for something.

"You told me that I needed to figure things out, and I did," Oliver explained. "I realized that I don't love Laurel anymore. At least not the way I used to." When Felicity didn't speak, he decided to continue. "You told me that I shouldn't forget that there's someone waiting for me at home. When I went to Laurel's today, I just  _knew_  that that couldn't be the place I called home. It felt wrong to be there and I know that my feelings for Laurel have changed since we first started our relationship."

"Does this have to do with your world, Oliver?" Felicity swallowed. "Are you talking about the things you remember from that place or the few things you've learned here?"

"Both, I guess," Oliver sighed. "Either way, I realized that I haven't been thinking about Laurel in a romantic way for quite some time... Instead, I've been crazy about someone else."

He waited for her reaction as he looked into her eyes. There was a small blush creeping up on her cheeks and he couldn't help it when he reached forward and brushed the back of his hand against one of her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered shut at the touch and he could feel his heart beating crazily in his chest.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked her quietly.

Felicity's eyes shot open and she immediately pulled away from him, "What?"

The corner of his lips twitched, but he knew that she would most likely get mad at him if he started grinning like a fool. "Can I kiss you?" he repeated, this time a little louder.

"What are you talking about now?" she stared at him. "You want to  _kiss_  me? Kiss  _me?_ Like, full on-the-lips-kiss or a friendly-cheek-kiss?"

He couldn't help it as he smiled down at her, "Like, full-on-the-lips-kiss."

She kept staring at him, bewildered, " _No!_ "

"Felicity," he sighed, his smile dropping. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but honestly, I don't think this little request is any crazier than you letting me spend the night in your guest room when you don't even know me," he said.

"But  _why_  in the name of everything would you need to kiss me?" she asked him as she stood up from her chair.

"Because you're the only thing in this world that has made sense to me," he admitted. "You're the only person that feels  _real_. All I know is that I have this feeling deep inside that once I kiss you, everything will make sense to me, just like you do."

There was a lot of staring going on today, he realized, as Felicity once again remained gaping at him. The blush on her cheeks had gotten a little worse, but soon he noticed how the color started disappearing a little.

"Well," she cleared her throat when her voice sounded a little hoarse, "I guess you can get a small peck... If it'll make you feel better."

He beamed at her as he took a step toward her, but she held up her hands quickly, "Wait, wait! How exactly are we supposed to do this? Do we count to three and  _then_ kiss or do we kiss on three, or do you want to count down from three because I can do that too? I mean, if you need more time to get ready or whatever, we can count down from ten-"

He stepped closer and cupped her face, tilting her face up before reaching down and kissing her softly, effectively cutting off her ramble. It was just a soft lip-on-lip touch and he immediately pulled away to meet her eyes. They were half hooded and she was holding onto the lapels of his jacket as she stared at his chest. The kiss might have been short, but he too was breathing heavily, purely because of the electric shock he had felt when his lips had finally touched hers.

"Does it make any sense yet?" she whispered, glancing up to meet his eyes. "Or do you need to try it again?"

He couldn't help but smile as one of his hands slid back behind her head, his fingers tangling in her blonde tresses, "I think we can try it one more time." She tilted her head up as he leaned down, his eyes closing as their lips met again.

This kiss was far more intense than the first one. Felicity's hands traveled from the lapels of his jacket, up to his shoulder before finally coming to rest around his neck as she stood on her tippy-toes so that she could reach him better. His thumb brushed against her cheek as he deepened the kiss, tongues and teeth clashing as they clung to each other.

Then, the most curious thing happened.

A flash of images flooded his mind; Russia, the look on Felicity's face when he told her he couldn't be with someone he could care about, Barry Allen and Felicity dancing together while he watched them from afar, a horrible feeling in his gut, Felicity telling him about her family and then proceeding to tell him about his mother's lies, him and Sara sleeping together... The regret he had felt when they had been done, how he had told Sara that it didn't mean anything, how he had then gotten on his motorcycle, heading straight for Felicity's place to tell her that he was sorry.

_The car that he hit_.

He remembered feeling weightless for a moment as he flew off his bike, and then pain everywhere in his body as he collided with the concrete beneath him.

His eyes flew open and he pulled away from Felicity, still holding her face close to his. He looked down and met her eyes. Her face was once again flushed and he  _knew_.

He had been on his way to tell her that night, when he had had an accident.

"Oliver?" Felicity whispered, her voice bringing him out of his thoughts.

He looked down at her intently, "It was  _you._ "

"What?"

"I was on my way to see you when I was in an accident," he told her, softly brushing her cheeks with his thumbs. "I was on my way to tell you that I had been stupid and that I had made a mistake by pushing you away. I was on my way to tell you the truth, to tell you that I love you." Her eyes widened and he gently pecked her lips again, his eyes falling shut once more, "I love you..."

* * *

_[Real world...]_

Oliver's eyes fluttered as he tried to make sense of the suddenly blinding light. Everything had been fine just a moment ago, when he had been kissing Felicity in her office, but now, he was feeling an ache in his side and one of his legs felt incredibly stiff.

Where was he and what the hell was that beeping sound?

He opened his eyes fully, his eyes scanning his surroundings. The light that had seemed so incredibly bright before turned out to be a small night lamp in the corner of the room. He turned his head slightly, only to face the window, noticing how dark it was outside. The moon was the only light in the sky, it seemed... He kept looking around, recognizing the room as a hospital room before his eyes finally settled on a person that was sitting in a chair next to his bed.

The person was hunched over, her head resting on the edge of his bed while her hand held onto his that was laying limb by his side. Her blonde hair was spread over the bed, covering half of her face, but there was no mistaking who it was.

_Felicity_.

Oliver watched her face as he gently reached over with his other hand, brushing away the hair that was in the way. His memories were coming back to him and he started making sense of the situation. The world he had been in just a moment ago seemed light years away now, because he knew that he was back. He remembered the accident he had been in before waking up next to Laurel, and he remembered everything he had said and done and  _felt_  during that time in the other world.

His lips felt dry and he wondered just how long he had been asleep. In his dream, it had felt like ages, but considering that Felicity didn't look much older than the last time he had seen her, he knew that wasn't possible.

The moonlight was making  _her_  look like a dream though. He wondered, if maybe he was dreaming again. Panic started filling his chest suddenly. How was he supposed to know whether  _this_  was real? The other world had felt real too, even if it might have just been a fiction of his imagination.

He needed to wake her and hear her voice.

"Felicity," he found himself whispering before he could even think about it twice. His voice sounded rough and deep, as if he had been asleep for a long time, which he probably had been.

He squeezed her hand gently, watching as her nose scrunched up a little, almost making him smile when warmth filled him.

"Felicity," he said again, this time a little louder as he squeezed her hand again.

Felicity jumped awake, looking around the room frantically, "I'm here! I'm awake!" She was still looking around, almost as if she was expecting someone to be behind her.

"I'm here," he told her, waving his hand a little to get her attention. Slowly, she turned to look at him and her mouth fell open. As she sat there, frozen and staring at him with wide eyes, he couldn't help but notice how red and puffy her eyes were. Had she been crying? For him?

"Oliver," she whispered, her eyes glazing over again. "You're here. You're  _awake_..." She reached over, gently putting her hand on his cheek. It seemed as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I'm here," he repeated, "and I'm awake."

He watched her as she swallowed thickly, closing her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. He immediately reached over, brushing it away. As soon as he had touched her, she'd made a sharp intake of breath before opening her eyes again. More tears fell as she stood from the chair and sat on the edge of his bed, falling into his chest as she embraced him.

He held onto her as she sobbed into his chest, her hands clutching desperately to his shirt, shoulders shaking. Gently, he hushed her, stroking her hair as he held her close. His own chest clenched painfully as he imagined what she must have been through while he was out.

Had she ever left his side?

Ever so slowly, she pulled herself together and her cries faded. She pulled back from him, but he held onto her hand, afraid that she might slip away from him.

"You're back," she said hoarsely, one of her hands resting over his heart where her tears had stained his shirt.

"How long was I out?" he asked her, his own voice filled with emotion as well.

"A week," she informed him. "You've been in a coma for a week... Everyone has been so worried about you. Diggle and Thea have been visiting every day. Your mom was here the night they brought you in, but then she had to leave and hold a press conference because people started asking questions and stalking the hospital staff. The Lance family was here too and-"

"You?" Oliver asked. "What about you?"

Felicity seemed to hesitate before speaking, "I've been by your side since the night I got the call about you."

Somehow, her admission only made Oliver want to embrace her again, but his movements were still restricted because of the pain he felt in his side. Broken ribs, most likely, he thought as he started cataloging the places in his body that felt sore.

"Everyone has been so,  _so_  worried, Oliver," she repeated, looking over at the digital clock on the table next to his bed. "Which means I should probably call them and tell them that you're awake! Oh God, they'll be so happy!" she smiled as she stood up and reached for her phone in bag.

_Screw the pain_ , Oliver thought as he reached for her wrist, grabbing it. Swiftly, he moved up in a sitting position as he pulled her back toward him, colliding his lips with hers.

She let out a gasp of surprise against his lips, but he only held her face close to his with one hand, his other still firmly holding onto her wrist. His ribs were protesting, but he didn't care, because Felicity relaxed against him as she once again sat down on his bed, her small hand coming to rest on his shoulder. He traced her lower lip with his tongue and she let out a small moan as she opened up for him, their tongues slowly stroking over each other. Letting go of her wrist, he cupped her other cheek as well as her hand moved to clutch his shirt once more.

He could kiss her forever and not care if the world around them was crashing down, as long as she was with him like this.

When they finally did pull away, Felicity slowly opened her eyes, looking at him dazedly. There was a blush on her face that made him smile as he brushed his thumbs against her cheek bones.

"What was that all about?" she asked him, her voice low even with the small smile that was playing on her lips.

"I love you," he told her, and it really was that simple, at least for him. Telling her that he loved her in his dream was what had ultimately brought him back and he didn't want to waste one more second living in denial over what he felt for his blonde partner.

"You do?" She sounded so hesitant that it almost hurt. After everything they had been through together since they met, he hated that he had made her doubt the way she made him feel.

"I do," he nodded slowly. "When I was... _asleep_ ," he settled, making her chuckle lightly, "I had a dream."

"What was it about?" she asked him, sounding genuinely curious at his revelation.

"That isn't important anymore," he told her. "The important thing is that I  _know_  now that what I always thought I wanted, wasn't what I really wanted. I want  _you_ ," he said softly, looking into her azure eyes that were once again filling with tears. "I love  _you_."

She only looked at him, searching his eyes before finally biting her lip, "You need to be absolutely sure that this is what you want, Oliver. I don't think I'll be able to handle it if you suddenly decide that this-  _us-_  can't happen because of the life that you lead."

"Felicity," he sighed. "I've made so many mistakes in the past, but they've all eventually led me to this moment right here," he said, glancing around the room before settling his eyes on her again. "All my mistakes have led me to getting to know both you and Diggle and I've found  _my own_  family and my  _home_. Because of that, I'll never regret anything and I will  _never_ regret taking this step with you. To be quite honest, I think the only way you'll get rid of me from this moment on, is if you decide to leave me... Assuming that you'll have me in the first place?"

It was a question and he was almost worried at what her answer would be. Although, when a smile made it's way onto her face, he could feel his heart beating wildly and his stomach doing somersaults that made him feel  _good,_  for once.

"This is probably the moment that I should tell you that I love you too, right?" Felicity wondered. "I mean, Thea made me swear that I would tell you once you woke up, no matter what-"

Oliver smiled as he pulled her into another kiss, once again silencing her. She was smiling against his lips and Oliver asked himself how he could have been so stupid to deny himself of being like this with her.

She pulled away abruptly, pushing him back on the bed again and he winced a little because of the pain. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I just need to say one last thing," she admitted, holding up one finger in the air.

"Proceed," he chuckled at her antics.

"I think we have to tell Thea the truth about our nightly activities," she informed him. "She's been hounding me and Dig about our relationship and she's already suspecting that something is up. Especially now that Roy is involved too. I have a feeling that it might be better for him to have her support while he's going through all these Mirakuru issues... And I think she has a right to know about Merlyn too..."

Oliver nodded slowly, realizing that he would need Felicity and Diggle both to fill him in on exactly what his younger sister had been up to when he was unconscious. Felicity's words made sense and even if he would hate to involve Thea in all of it, he knew that she might be able to help keep Roy grounded, just like Felicity grounded  _him_. Even though a part of him had wanted to keep the truth about Thea's biological father a secret, he understood what Felicity was saying. His younger sister deserved to know the truth and it would be better if it came from him than anyone else.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," he told her softly and she nodded as she reached for her phone again. He took her hand again, grinning, "And you can call the others tomorrow as well."

A shy smile appeared on her face, but she relented, nodding slowly as he pulled her to lay down next to him. He kissed her again, taking his time, finally feeling happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, it is finished! =)
> 
> I know, I know! I left the ending a little "open" or whatever, but please remember that this story takes place in the middle of season 2 (right after 2x13) so you can all just imagine a little world where everything was okay in the end. I mean, if Oliver told Thea the truth, then Roy would most likely not have gone off the wagon and they might have been able to work together a lot better against Slade. Okay, now I'm just rambling, but lets all pretend that everything was butterflies and rainbows after this and that Slade never happened and they lived happily ever after! =)
> 
> I would really like to know what part of this story you liked the most, just out of curiosity! ;)
> 
> Oh, and now I can tell you guys that I've been working a little on that five-part sort-of follow up to "A Life Without You", which digs a little deeper on what actually happened to Oliver after Felicity died in the alternative ending of Crumbled Papers. Would you guys be interested in reading it? Now, I'm not saying that I'll post it any time soon (because I have a lot of school and I'm currently working on Hunted and a couple of prompts I got on Tumblr), but if I do finish it, will you read it? =)
> 
> So, once again, thank you so much for reading and showing you support! I love all of you! :*
> 
> xx

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you weren't too confused by what's going on in this story! In case you were, let me break it down for you: Oliver is in a coma after an accident and he is dreaming of a world where The Queen's Gambit never sank, but he still remembers everything that happened on the Island as if it was real, which only makes him confused!
> 
> In the REAL world, Felicity and Diggle are by his side...
> 
> Anyway, I have ten chapters planned for this in total and they will be built up like this one, first with Oliver in his "dream world" (which means that some characters might be OOC, including Oliver himself, because dudes, this is all a dream!) and the "real world" were we'll be seeing Team Arrow and Oliver's family and friends handling his comatose state! Also, this takes place after 2x13 and is completely AU after that, so there won't be any established Sara/Oliver-relationship (but it will be mentioned!)... After all, this is an Olicity fic! ;)
> 
> Feel free to comment and tell me what you think! I won't be posting any other chapters on this for a while since I'll be focusing on other stories and my studies, but when I finish the story completely, I'll probably post once a week, like with Crumbled Papers! :)


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